Ride, ride my see saw
by ThreeMagpies
Summary: Revolution fic: Charloe, Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson: Bass sees Charlie with the Bookie in Gould's Fight tent in New Vegas and knows that it's her asking to meet him... Based on a prompt on the Good Ship Charloe writers page...
1. Chapter 1

**Ride, ride my see saw…**

A Revolution fic: Charloe, Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Mention of characters from the show including, Ely Gould, the Bookie, Miles, Rachael and Danny Matheson, Aaron Pittman, the Patriots, Tom and Jason Neville, Will Strausser… The story is based on a prompt from the Good Ship Charloe writers page – where Bass sees Charlie with the Bookie in Gould's fight tent in New Vegas and knows she's the one asking for him…

Rating M

**Author's note: **

Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this… The story title is taken from a song of that name recorded by the Moody Blues and written by their bass player, John Lodge. The prompt sort of took hold of me and wouldn't let me go… I hope you like it

I don't own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters.

**Ride, ride my see-saw**…

Part 1.

Sebastian Monroe was half-heartedly beating the crap out of the latest untrained piece of cannon fodder Gould had lined up for him… bored out of his brain, even though he really was trying to keep things bloody and interesting for tonight's crowd of vicarious thrill seekers… He got paid a lot more if the betting went well for Gould... then out of the corner of his eye he saw Charlotte Matheson saunter into Gould's tent, large as life and just as full of Matheson spunk as he remembered from Philadelphia and the Tower… (and from the lost years before the blackout when she was a little cherub with Matheson grit in every bone…).

There was no mistake… that face was engraved on his brain… She looked like she'd just walked through hell's sweaty armpit but she was still beautiful enough to take his breath away and tighten his jeans – especially revved as he was from fighting – even a fight as crap easy as this one… The long, stringy, dirty blond hair clinging around that gorgeous face – the skin gleaming from the heat of the night and the humid, fetid air of the tent, her cheekbones a little more defined since he last saw her (in the Tower…before the bombs that changed the world – again…), the lips fuller, the eyes harder, gaze intent and searching, shadowed in the lamplight…

Her hair was longer too, reaching down to her slim waist and it swung in heavy, sweaty waves as she prowled into the crowded tent in a faded blue tank top that showed off her full breasts and taut belly and was bisected diagonally between those breasts by the straps holding her crossbow and bag to her back… Her jeans were tight enough that they clung like a second skin to her curvy hips and slim legs… and a metal chain belt swung at her hips with each step, drawing the eye of every man – and some of the women - in the place that wasn't watching the fight or fixing on another woman and even some of them turned to look…

He sucked in a breath…God… She was all grown up and don't mess with me attitude… He could feel her reaching out to his fight or fuck (mostly fuck) reflexes like a siren call… and he knew exactly the moment when she spotted him because her eyes fell on him like spotlights from some crazy lookout tower just before she slid behind a group of nondescript scruffy men – out for a night of fun in Vegas…avoiding their drunkenly groping hands with lithe and practised skill…

He checked the crowd, carefully looking through her – not wanting to give her any sign that he had seen her or that he even knew she was there… and where the hell was Miles? Bass couldn't believe that his brother (still his brother, no matter what…) would be so fucking idiotic as to let her come to this cesspit without him - would he? But there was absolutely no sign of Miles - or even Rachael… So why was she here on her own…? It couldn't be coincidence - could it...? He felt a painful grinding in his gut… and what had happened to change her so much? She was all anger and fuck with me if you dare…. He let the guy land a blow to his right cheek… The sharp pain (added to all the others on his body and his soul…) woke him up a little… and his lips twisted – what could have happened…? Apart of course from the nuclear bombs and even more death in a world gorged on it… but had something happened to Miles…or her Mother? Had she had even more deaths to blame him for?

He needed to know… because if it was about Miles he had to know… and also because by the feel of that hot blue gaze on him, she was here after blood… Monroe's lips tightened and he coughed out a laugh at the irony of life because here she was reminding him that he wasn't absolutely alone in the world (however the hell she had found him…) and he was pretty sure she was here to kill him…

He spat out a little blood from a cut on his lip as he lazily avoided another slow jab from the clumsy, tiring and beaten man in the ring with him… Then he landed another one, two of his own… fists landing on flesh with an audible smack and a shudder from the guy that sent aftershocks up his arms… But even with a sick feeling in his gut and the dread of finding out that maybe he had to add Miles to his long list of dead and gone's… Bass felt more alive than he had in months with her right there, almost close enough to touch as he circled the other guy in the ring, feeling her eyes on him, feeling the hate and the lust (for revenge?) in those eyes like a lash on his skin…the intensity of it going like lightening bolts straight down his belly to his dick… She'd just made this fight a whole lot more interesting…and he'd be happy to give her a show… The crowd roared and yelled as he flashed them a smile and did a little butterfly dance away from the belly shot the guy was sort of aiming at him…

All these months and he hadn't forgotten her, not for a second… his last view of her in the tower flashed across his brain - lying trapped under that pile of tubes and rubble, her eyes a burning blue in that gorgeous face, furious with him even after he blew a man apart into a million pieces to save her, and before that… a more innocent defiance in those eyes when Strausser told Rachael to choose which of her children would die… and as she demanded that he pick her - not her brother (who had stupidly got himself killed later anyway…) Hell, they both could have died because of Rachael's stubbornness... and she was so like Miles Bass could tell what she was thinking just by being near her… His eyes narrowed, oh yeah, he knew what she was thinking and it was all about how good it would feel to push her knife into his heart, or have him dead centre in her crossbow sights; to try to end her pain by ending him… He wondered how he could tell her that it wouldn't be as easy as that; that the pain just kept coming… not that she'd believe him anyway…

He drew part of his attention back to the fight – keeping the rest on her as she wove around the tent and him… and he knew she was working out her next move… Did she really think she could come out on top against him? What had happened to her to make her so stupidly reckless? Miles should have taught her better than that… but maybe it was her very own idea, maybe she was too far gone into the war zone of hate and grief to care… He felt a curious sense of empathy – and responsibility (?) start to wake up again inside him… This was Charlotte Matheson, courageous and willing to sacrifice herself for those she cared about, and she shouldn't be walking around with death in her eyes…

There was a wary, resigned look on the other fighter's face; he knew he was nearly finished…that he hadn't even had a ghost of winning this… He still came forward though, Bass had to give him that – but then the poor fool didn't really have a choice, Gould owned him, lock, stock and both balls… It was time to put him out of his misery and Bass moved in for the proverbial… twisting his toned and hardened body with sinuous grace around the guy and landing three fast, crushing jabs to the kidneys then one to the head… letting some of his endless, bottomless anger out to play … The guy fell to his knees… already gone... But he hit him another one anyway…and the guy went down to stay…

Bass stood still for a moment… a Gladiator grim smile turning his face into a mask celebrating another bloody triumph – giving the crowd their moment… letting them see the disdain for them in his eyes… Except they didn't care… they never cared… The noise in the tent rose into cheers, the sound ebbing and flowing… Empty people celebrating or mourning another meaningless victory in an endless string of meaningless victories… He sighed…stretching the kinks out of his neck and back, then ran a hand through his sweat stained curls…leaving bloody streaks behind…

He looked around for Charlotte without being too obvious about it although he already had a sense of where she'd be… And there she was, the bright glint of diamonds dropping from her hand into the waiting pouch held in Gould's tame bookie's greasy hand, her eyes briefly focused on the little man as she did it… But he felt it like a shiver down his skin when her gaze returned to him…and he carefully looked anywhere but at her, his cool, casual gaze moving over and through her as though she wasn't there… He took his shirt from the tall willowy blond who'd been keeping it for him, waiting for him to finish… put it on and did up most of the buttons…leaving a few at the top undone – flashing the top of his abs and his muscular neck for crowd appeal (Gould liked it when he showed off his assets…) and as he was rolling the sleeves up - showing off his scars too… the blonde asked him something about why he kept fighting… 'It's better than my last job…' he said to the air… She looks a little like Charlotte he realised…but of course isn't her… She's sweet and lovely and jaded, but at the moment he can't remember her name – and he has enough remnants of grace left to feel a little ashamed of that…

Charlotte Matheson was here in New Vegas, Charlotte Matheson… who knew for dead certain, because she had been there at the Tower, that he hadn't dropped the bombs on his city and on Atlanta but who blamed him for absolutely everything else… Even though it was her own damn mother who had taken the world away and wouldn't even try to give it back until it was too fucking late – especially for the people in Philly and Atlanta… Charlotte Matheson, who just had to open her mouth and mention his name to anyone here to guarantee a good old fashioned lynching - or worse – for Sebastian Monroe but who for some reason hadn't done that… Then he remembered the look in her eyes as she circled around the tent… It was the look of a predator with a nice juicy rabbit in its sights… So she wanted him all to herself did she…? He smiled and licked some blood off his cut lip, the taste and smell of it like the tang of metal and blood from all of the battles he had seen and survived… The thing she didn't know, or maybe she did and she didn't care, was that he had been a predator for a whole lot longer than she had…and he didn't intend to be anyone's rabbit…

He felt like things were at a balance point… something was going to change… He also knew that someone else, someone besides Charlotte Matheson, was watching him… because he could feel their eyes too…

He casually looked around the tent as his willowy blond companion… Jessie, that was her name… Jessie… snuggled up close to his sweat soaked side as they headed for the bar and the roulette wheel… but didn't spot anyone else staring at him in that particular way… yet… he focused some attention back on the woman at his side… she was lovely and any other night he would be taking her back to his trailer… Like everyone else in this crazy place, Jessie was just looking for someone strong enough to protect her from the feeding frenzy that the world had become… He wondered how and why it had come down to this… why had it all failed so badly… and he felt his own failure like heavy stones, piled on his back like the skulls of the dead…

At the Roulette wheel he put a small pile of diamonds on black…and then lost them all as the wheel stopped on red seven… 'Wouldn't have any luck at all if it wasn't bad…' he said carelessly to Jessie, she shrugged and said something meant to be comforting… but he used the need to get some more diamonds from his trailer as an excuse to get away – there were plenty of other opportunities here for her tonight… She clung onto his arm as he went… but he left without a backward glance and then forgot about her…

He looked around for the bookie – the little guy loved making a deal and often arranged for interested girls to meet the famous Jimmy King after a fight for a price - the most logical move for Charlotte would have been to pay for a meet and greet so that she could get him on his own…

Bass quickly spotted him not far away, making yet another deal in a lifetime made up of deals… He headed over and caught the smaller man's eye; letting him know he was serious about talking… The other deal was closed quickly and the bookie sidled up to Bass, carefully not touching him…not getting too close…He had seen what Jimmy King aka General and former President of the Monroe Republic, Sebastian Monroe, was capable of and didn't want to provoke him into doing any of that to him… 'Hey Jimmy… I'm glad you came over… I was just coming to find you…' his eyes narrowed and a sly grin curved his wide mouth… 'There's a chick wants to meet you…and I hope you're not too tired 'cause believe me you'll want to stay awake for this one…'

….

Charlie had watched Monroe go to the roulette wheel with the blond woman hanging on his arm like she didn't have legs of her own… but her mind was still full of the sight of him during the fight…the sweat running down his skin and outlining his bare, heavily muscled, chiselled torso and strong arms in gold from the lamplight… The strikingly handsome - she had to admit it - face was a bit different with a light beard and moustache, but it was him… it was Monroe, just not quite the Monroe she remembered…

This wasn't the polished General she had met in Philadelphia, the man who had almost let that creepy Strausser kill her and/or her brother, and then for some reason had saved her life at the Tower… This was a physically astonishing Monroe… who fought like he meant it and won with brutal efficiency… She had felt something primitive inside her become hungry and urgent during the fight and had had to actually stop herself cheering when he won… She hadn't realised that he could really fight, had thought he was just a figurehead general… and, if she was being honest…she had to admit to herself that watching him as he totally ruined the other guy's day had made her horny as hell… her jeans getting damper and more uncomfortably tight between her legs as the fight went on… He was amazing to look at and sexy as all get out even when he was only half naked (a vision of him all naked rose in her brain and she felt a sudden rush of heat to her sex that made her gasp...) and if he wasn't who he was or maybe because he was who he was? And how twisted was that…? She would so be coming on to him… Maybe she could fuck him and then kill him and have the best of both worlds…

Some still young and hopeful part of her wept at that thought and what it said about how far she had fallen, into…something… She kicked it back into its cradle and returned to contemplating Monroe… that childish part of her would soon be as dead as she intended to make him…

Charlie liked men just as much as they seemed to like her so she tried to tell herself again that it was just her body reacting to the fight and the testosterone raging around the tent…and not to the sheer and inescapably male presence of Monroe - but she knew she was lying to herself… There was something about the fact that she knew him… that he was the only person for a months travel around that knew her that called to her as well…and she knew she had to be broadcasting her interest like a beacon of arousal… Men around her at the bar where she was waiting for her drink to come were starting to notice, paying her a lot more attention… and once her (harsh and nasty) whiskey came, she had to squeeze her way past more than a few persistent types – casually digging hard into their soft bellies with her sharp elbows… accidentally stepping onto a couple of toes with her worn but still effective steel studded heels…giving them her death ray stare (courtesy of lessons from Miles and Aaron…) and keeping her free hand on her knife…

She was going to have to rethink her strategy… She hadn't figured on finding Monroe – like this…and to be truthful she didn't really have a strategy… She had just pictured herself with him dead…somehow… at her feet… She hadn't thought about how… She had some skills and had been able to take care of herself in most situations but the reality of Monroe now was so – different – to how she'd imagined… Jeff the cute barman had said he'd looked like cold hell warmed over but she thought he'd say something different if he saw him now… Monroe was quite obviously and simply much stronger, faster and much more experienced at fighting than her… She frowned and found somewhere to lean, then pushed her elbow into another soft belly – she had to use her boot too and waste another death stare… the guy really wanted to intrude on her space…. and took a sip of the awful whiskey…

He was in hiding though… using another name…and all she'd have to do would be to point to him, say his name out loud and show them her arm with his brand on it and they'd believe her and he'd be torn apart by a mob who thought he'd sent the bombs… She didn't want that though… she wanted him for herself, she wanted to make him hurt like he'd hurt her…? To make him pay for all he'd done, even though it wasn't all his fault or doing and deep inside she knew it… It had been so much easier to lay all of the blame on him before she found him… it wasn't quite so easy now, damn it… she swallowed the rest of the foul whiskey with a shudder and upended the glass onto a small empty space on one of the tables…

She reminded herself of the mission… unless she could get a clear shot at him from close range, her best chance of getting to Monroe when he was in any way vulnerable was by using the strengths that she had… She knew he liked women, she had heard the stories and when he'd looked at her in the tower – and even back in Philadelphia - she could have sworn there was something there… something electric…that maybe he'd found her attractive and she could use that – and tonight she found the idea strangely compelling…

She looked down at herself and frowned…she hadn't realised just how dirty and, she sniffed… smelly… she'd got, and although she had been able to wash the basic bits at a stream that morning, she'd been too wary to undress enough to take a proper bath… She'd be lucky if Monroe wanted to come within six feet of her at the moment…let alone get close enough so that she'd have a chance of getting under his guard… Besides she really wasn't sure, now that the excitement and arousal from watching the fight had died down a little, how she felt about doing - that - with Monroe… A strange mixture of excitement, anticipation, fear and defiance roiled in her stomach and she felt her clit pulsing and moisture pooling between her legs again just at the thought of him… She tensed the muscles there and squeezed her thighs together to try to relieve herself a little…

Screwing Sebastian Monroe would be something she couldn't take back… and what would her family think…? And, she thought ruefully, did that really matter now? Especially if Monroe was dead… as she intended him to be soon… Miles only seemed to care about her mom, her grandpa ditto, her mom was off in her own world and poor Aaron blamed himself for everything going wrong… and Danny, Danny was dead…Nora was dead, Maggie was dead…

She was more alone at this time and in this place than she had ever been before in her life…and it suddenly hit her that if she died here and now, none of her family would know, no one would care, no one would even know who she was…except, maybe, him… She stared into space… not blinking for a long moment… maybe they should just die together and finish it all…

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned fast around on her heel, crouching in a defensive stance, her hand on her throwing knife… the guy who had done the tapping quickly put both hands in the air in surrender… 'Hey, babe, chill…it's me…' she relaxed a little… it was the bookie guy… He smiled… a cheesy, sleazy smile…'you're in luck babe… Jimmy said to tell you that he'd be very happy to meet you…' Charlie smiled, somehow producing a confident, broad smile out of her kit bag… her dimple peeking out… although the smile didn't really show in her eyes…'That's really great…' she said, a little too brightly '…hey, what is your name anyway…?' he shrugged… 'Don't matter babe, people just call me the bookie...' he smirked… 'Anyway, Jimmy said he's got some time now if you want to meet up…' she stepped a little closer to him, smile fading; her eyes narrow and intent… 'Where…?"

"He said he'd wait outside the tent Babe, round the back, go to the right when you get out the door and keep going around…' the bookie's grin faded a little at the look on her face…'But he said you'd have to hurry… he got people to see… things to do…' he shrugged and winked… 'You know – he's a busy man…' she stepped away then paused… 'How do I know you're telling me the truth?' he shrugged again… 'You gave me enough diamonds to pay for Jimmy's time and a cut for me…but, suit yourself…' he looked pointedly at her knife, prominent in its hip holster, her crossbow slung across her shoulders and the (new) throwing stars hanging from a couple of rings on her belt 'You look like you can take care of your own self… but it's up to you, Babe, I'm just giving you the message… you do what you like with it…' She stared at him for a moment…then nodded… 'Ok, well thanks for the message…' she turned and headed for the door…

Outside, it was suddenly a little quieter, a little darker except for the pools of light cast by the oil lamps and braziers… There were fewer people around the tent now too… most were inside at the bar or gone to other venues… or even sleeping, if anyone ever really slept around here… Charlie pulled her knife out ready; slung her crossbow and backpack off her shoulders, carrying them in her other hand and turned to the right, walking slowly and quietly on the trampled dirt pathway around the fight tent into a sort of cleared area – obviously used to hang washing and sit away from the crowds… The patchy grass was softer underfoot, especially as she got further around the big tents walls then the path led into an alley way between the fight tent and another… and she tensed, checking around her for movement… but there was no one around… The sounds from inside the fight tent fading a little as she walked on, leaving a distant hum of voices and the sound of someone playing a guitar and singing off in the distance - something about a see-saw…? The night breeze felt good, cooling her skin after the close, humid, coppery, sweat and alcohol atmosphere of the tent…and everything looking drained of colour but quite clear in the bright moonlight… Where was he…?

Suddenly a hard arm snaked around her waist from behind her, out of the dark, and a strong, hard hand gripped the wrist of her knife hand… She instinctively threw her head back and up towards his chin (she knew it was him… it had to be him…), dropping her bow and bag on the ground and thrusting the elbow of that arm hard back towards his stomach, kicking back at his shins with her boot heel … But faster than she would have believed possible she was on the ground, immobilised by a hard, broad, impossibly strong body, silhouetted dark against a sky full of stars… his long legs scissoring and trapping hers between his, both of her arms (her knife gone) held easily above her head by one of his hands, his other hand tensed on the ground near her shoulder supporting most of his weight… her chest and lower body partly covered with his… She literally couldn't move…and she panicked… her head frantically shaking from side to side, body bucking under his weight… legs and body trying to throw his away from her… Then she opened her mouth to scream, taking in a deep breath…

Monroe groaned and his voice hissed out above her… 'Charlotte, stop… I'm not going to hurt you…' but the scream had already started and without warning his mouth was on hers…his lips sealing the scream in, taking it into himself… Charlie stiffened in shock, her eyes wide… Bass pulled back a little, just enough so that he could look into those eyes…'Charlotte…' her night vision had improved enough that she could see his face above hers, his eyes blazingly intent on her - somehow catching and concentrating the ambient light… 'Listen…' he bent down closer, those eyes like twin pools that she was falling into or that were falling onto her… 'I am not going to hurt you…'

She couldn't think with him so close, his body hot and heavy on her… She hadn't realised what it would feel like to have Monroe right there, and he overwhelmed her… it was too much… her heart was thudding and she didn't know whether she wanted him to get off her or kiss her again and… she stared up at him…frozen in place, any plans forgotten…except one… And suddenly she was so… angry…with him…with everything… 'But I'm going to hurt you Monroe…' she spat out… furious…'I so want to hurt you…'

He grinned down at her, his eyes glinting with a touch of admiration and more than a hint of something very primal… 'Sort of figured that one out for myself…' he lifted an eyebrow… stretching her arms out just a little bit more so that her breasts strained against the thin and tattered material of her tank top, his eyes traced a burning line downwards and he tightened his legs on either side of hers…'So here I am Charlie' he moved his weight a little to the side, and brought his free hand up to the side of her face, running his finger gently down its contours… down over her neck and collar bone, then tracing the outside curve of her breast… his finger lazily stroking her there… Her body reacted to the gentle touch, her nipples rising up into little points clearly visible through the thin material of her bra and tank…'Give it your best shot…' a little smile curved his mouth and his voice came out low and a little hoarse, she narrowed her eyes and glared up at him, as his came back up to meet hers… and she struggled again, trying to get a knee free so she could… then slumped back, not able to move, not gaining anything… 'You… you smug bastard…' she said tightly, he shrugged 'Ouch…?' he said raising an eyebrow…'Come on Charlotte, you're not even trying…' if looks could kill she'd have done it then… but he just chuckled and stroked his fingers down to the little strip of skin between the bottom of her tank, almost luminous in the night… then traced along it, the skin of his fingers rough, sending little sparks of sensation downwards… 'Hmmn…' he mused… 'You are a tempting little thing Charlie…' she glared harder and tightened her stomach muscles, pulling away from him… 'Bastard…'

He studied her face in the moonlight… she thought he actually looked curious…'How were you going to do it anyway…?' 'Do what?' she shot back… 'Well, I was sort of expecting you to try to kill me… so I grabbed you first…' he actually sounded a little puzzled… Charlie turned her head away from him and sighed heavily… 'I…you caught me by surprise… I… I was going to use my knife… ' A new thought occurred to her… 'And how did you know it was me anyway? ' He considered all of that… 'I spotted you as soon as you walked into Gould's tent Charlie…you really don't fade into the background very well…' he smirked at her discomfort at hearing that…. Then his face got serious…. 'but this was really stupid… you're in unfamiliar territory; you didn't know where I was or what weapons I had, and you knew I was waiting for you…. Didn't Miles teach you anything? What were you thinking?' Charlie felt herself redden and she turned her face away as far as she could although thankfully he wouldn't be able to see… 'Why do you care Monroe…?' she muttered… but he was right…she had been stupid… He frowned down at her… 'Maybe I'm not quite the monster you think I am….' The glare returned…and he shrugged… 'Ok… we'll take that one under advisement… Where is Miles anyway…?' Charlie let out a breath… 'He's not here…'

Monroe chewed his lip... he really didn't want to ask but… 'Is he ok…? I mean… he's alive isn't he?' Charlie looked into his eyes… he actually looked – worried? 'Yes… and yes… at least he was when I saw him a few months ago…' Monroe's head shot up… 'A few months?' His voice got louder…'A few months…? If he's alive then what the fuck is he doing just letting you wander around on your own for a few months…?' She exploded herself then… 'He didn't _let_ me do anything Monroe! I'm not a child… I can look after myself…' he rolled his eyes…'Sure you can…most of the time…' he tightened his grip on her hands and leaned forward again, his face – set in hard lines - getting closer to her own…his eyes intense and… scary… 'Charlotte… most of the time isn't good enough around here…' she stared up at him, couldn't look away… her heart pounding as he got closer and closer… 'I could do anything I wanted to you right now… and you couldn't stop me…' he whispered against her lips…'I could do anything Charlie…anything at all…' he kissed her gently then lifted his head back… 'But you're lucky tonight…I'm no rapist and I try really hard not to kill people these days - unless I have to… but I can't say the same about a lot of the men around here – and some of the women... This is a very, very bad place, and there are people around here who even give me nightmares…' She gazed up at him…she didn't know what to think…this wasn't how he was supposed to be…

Charlie relaxed as much as she could in the cage of his arms and legs… and looked up at him… her eyes had adjusted to the ambient light and she could see the muscles of his chest and abs through the tunnel that his shirt made as it hung down over her… they were pretty good muscles and she remembered thinking how amazing he looked without his shirt… the view was even nicer close up than it had been from a distance… and he smelled of strong male sweat and a little of blood… She even seemed to be getting used to the fact that it really was General Sebastian Monroe… her nightmare Boogy man and secret obsession actually here and holding her almost like a lover… almost… although weirdly he was still treating her more like a silly kid…and she was so over that…

He shifted his weight a little…'What's going on in that devious mind of yours Charlotte…?' she gazed up at him, letting what she felt show in her eyes… she ran her tongue over her lips and his eyes shifted to follow the tongue… He had shifted enough that she was able to move one of her knees, she rubbed it gently up over his thigh to the bulge between his legs, feeling it harden and seeing it grow as she stroked… he took a sharp breath in… and she smiled slyly… 'I liked watching you Monroe…in there… You were so different from Philadelphia…' she took a deep breath and stretched out, arching her back and lifting her breasts towards him…he just looked at her… tension making his face into a mask… and his hand tightened on her wrists…'I knew you'd win, the other guy was crap… but you made it look beautiful… the fighting…you just rolled him…' he swallowed… 'Charlie…don't… you were just turned on by the action…' he moved away from her a little more so she couldn't reach him… 'Everyone gets a bit that way… why do you think there's fighting and whores in the same place? Gould makes most of his money on fight nights…'

She stretched out, moving her body against him where she could…her legs against his…the side of her breast brushing his underarm…'Did you get turned on too Monroe...?' she licked her lips again… and his gaze dropped to her mouth…'I saw you with that blonde woman… were you going to fuck her tonight…?' his eyes narrowed suddenly… 'Why are you doing this Charlie…?' his voice was harsh…'I thought you wanted to kill me, not fuck me….' Charlie gazed up at him 'What if I wanted to do both…? What does it matter? No one really cares… everybody dies… or leaves…or… Miles only thinks about Mom now… and I'm all that's left…and I thought you wanted me…' She stopped moving, going limp underneath him…and her voice became hard and brittle although he could hear the anguish underneath... 'Now, if you don't want to fuck me, let me up so I can go find someone who does…'

Monroe sighed heavily…'I understand about pain, and being alone Charlotte, believe me…' she turned her head away from his gaze... not wanting him to see the tears that welled up when he said that… 'Why do you think I fight…?' she didn't answer… he stroked the hair back from her face and she twisted away…'Don't be so…nice…' she looked up at him, eyes wet and stormy 'I don't want you to be nice…I want you to be…Monroe… I need to get rid of all this…this…' she bit on her bottom lip…'I know, I look awful… and I haven't had a proper bath in days….' He chuckled wryly… 'Charlotte Matheson… you're gorgeous and you know it… and you could have any man you wanted bath or no bath...including me…' she looked up at him…eyes wide… 'But you really don't want any of the men you'll find here, and I…' he sighed again… 'So what am I going to do with you…'

He tensed suddenly… and his hand went over Charlie's mouth in a warning to be quiet… and surprising herself she listened, stayed still and waited as the heavy boots of several men went past the gap between the tents, silhouetted against the light of the lamps outside Gould's tent… he gave it a few minutes after they had passed and let her go…then his voice came to her in a whisper… 'Soldiers… Charlie, they call themselves Patriots, pretending to be US Government troops…' he frowned down at her, eyes dark and serious … 'There's been a lot of them around lately, spouting all kinds of crazy stuff ' he shrugged…'And they really don't like me for some reason…' Charlie huffed… 'Can't imagine why that is…' he frowned down at her 'You think I was bad Charlotte? Some of the things I've heard about these guys make me look like a teddy bear even at my worst…' he pointed his chin towards the back of the fight tent… 'My trailer's back there… Gould's kind enough to provide crash pads for fighters who make money for him …we can go and finish this inside…' She glared up at him 'What if I tell you to go to hell Monroe…' he glared right back…'what makes you think you've got a choice…'

…

AN: thanks so much for reading… I got to 10,000 words and thought I'd better split this story into two parts – part 2 will be up in the next couple of days – then I need to get the next chapters of Semper Fidelis and Memories up too… This story really wanted to come out tho' and it has been quite an adventure to write… really hope it lives up to the prompt – I wanted to know what Bass and Charlie might have done if they'd met up in a slightly different way… all the best, Magpie


	2. Chapter 2

**Ride, ride my see saw…**

A Revolution fic: Charloe, Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Mention of characters from the show including, Ely Gould, the Bookie, Miles, Rachael and Danny Matheson, Aaron Pittman, the Patriots, Tom and Jason Neville, Will Strausser… The story is based on a prompt from the Good Ship Charloe writer's page – where Bass sees Charlie with the Bookie in Gould's fight tent in New Vegas and knows she's the one asking for him…

Rating M

**Author's note: **

Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this… and to LemonSupreme (whose lovely prompt this was…), Iceonfire7, MDRevolutionFan, Hayj and a very nice guest for leaving wonderful and really encouraging reviews for part 1… and special thanks to LoveForTheStory for some very kind, thoughtful and helpful advice when I was having a 'moment of doubt and pain…'

Please leave a comment if you have a moment…this story was really important to me - it was one of those big moments for Bass and Charlie wasn't it – and I really hope I've done it justice…

I don't own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters.

**Ride, ride my see-saw**… Part 2.

Monroe kept an iron grip on her arm and stayed unnervingly close to her as they untangled their legs and got up from the ground… but Charlie didn't complain, she was feeling a little bit dazed by the physical and emotional see saw of the night… Her body had been in a state of unresolved arousal for what felt like hours and Monroe…Monroe had made things a whole lot worse by getting up close and personal with his stupid muscles and his long legs and those amazing blue eyes – and the beard…and then not letting her kill him _or_ fuck him (or fuck him and then kill him…) and get him out of her system. And what was it with him worrying so much about her anyway? And the crap about him being angry with Miles because he wasn't with poor little her… Charlie took a deep breath and glared up at him… Then everything went a little hazy, because she didn't know what would happen next… she didn't have a plan for something like this… and she should have a plan, Monroe had been right about that…

Monroe bent over to scoop up her knife, bag and bow, sliding the knife through his belt and slinging the rest over his shoulder… He checked her out on the way up, and his eyes narrowed… he had felt the glare earlier but now her eyes were unfocused and a little glazed; he sighed…if she was anything like her uncle – and she was a hell of lot like him…she'd probably been running on empty for days while she was looking for him – and Gould's whiskey was definitely not part of any food group… Combine that with travelling alone for weeks – months… through country like this and it was no surprise that she looked like she was going to fall over… although it never paid to underestimate a Matheson, and she had made it to New Vegas in one piece…

'Have you eaten anything tonight Charlotte…?' he asked… she turned her head up towards him…'what…?' he shook her arm a little… 'Have you eaten anything tonight…?' she shook her head… 'There's some jerky in my pack…' she said, her voice sounding a bit feeble even to her… He held the bag out to her…'get some out… you can eat on the way…' Charlie nodded… strangely grateful… She had been so focused on getting here that she knew she hadn't been eating properly - and couldn't remember eating at all today… She reached into the front pocket of her bag with her free hand; his eyes following her every move… and a wry grin twitched at her lips…'It's ok Monroe… the Jerky's pretty hard but I don't think you need to worry too much about death by dried venison…' that reassured him he'd been right about her resilience, it did mean he'd have to watch her very closely though… 'I'm sure you could manage Charlie…' she decided to ignore him and started to chew the tough but tasty morsels, feeling energy return almost immediately…she'd work something out… she always did…

He led her, still keeping his grip on her arm and trying to look casual about it…. to a small trailer grouped in a semi circle with a few others around an at the moment unlit campfire in a clearing behind the fight tent … It was tattered but still in one piece and adapted so it could be horse drawn. He checked the door – the strip of wire was still where he'd left it so he was pretty sure he hadn't had any unwelcome visitors, not that there was much to take anyway… he unhooked it so they could go in… then lit the oil lamp that he'd left at the bottom of the steps, opened the door and pushed Charlie up into the trailer… He followed her in, locking the door behind them, staying close to her - wary of any moves she might make…but to his surprise, she went in and just stood there…

Bass found himself at a crossroads… Things here in New Vegas were starting to get a bit too hot and he'd been thinking of leaving anyway – in fact a few more days and she would have missed him… There were more and more Patriots and Bounty Hunters around each day and sooner or later one of them would work out who he was… Charlie was clearly in a pretty bad place emotionally – and he really didn't like to think about what could have happened to her if she'd kept going the way she was… It was truly ironic how meeting up with him of all people might have just saved her life…and all because she wanted to take his… But, she was Miles' niece, and, by his definition, family… He sighed, there was really no decision to make…he'd have to get her back to them somehow…willing or not…although dragging an unwilling Charlotte Matheson halfway across the map to wherever Miles was (and she still had to tell him where first…) would definitely not be his first choice…

Charlie looked around the trailer while Monroe stowed her pack, bow and knife on a high ledge next to the door, lit a second lamp and pulled the curtains shut over the small windows behind the table… She was a bit surprised at how clean and tidy the small space was … there was a double bed at the far end – looking surprisingly clean – and comfortable too – it even had pillows… There was a small table (which was where Monroe put the first lamp) and chairs opposite the door – and next to that at the other end of the van there was a little sink with a water pump…over a double front cupboard that extended round into a robe and more storage… Some shelves above the sink held a couple of glasses, a couple of mismatched bowls, mugs and plates and a covered jug of drinking water as well as a bottle of what she thought might be the awful, but still effective, whiskey…

Charlie made a sort of approving noise… he shrugged and leaned back against the cupboard…'Gould does pretty well for himself and it's in his interests to keep us happy' he grinned, his eyes creasing at the edges… 'The girls like it too…' she raised an eyebrow and looked dubiously over at the bed… he laughed out loud…' don't worry… clean sheets every day are part of the deal…' He indicated the chairs… 'Have a seat…' Charlie looked up at him… It felt good to be with someone who knew who she was, who knew her family - even if that someone was Monroe… but even with everything that had happened in the past, she felt strangely safe with him now… which was a shame – because she'd just remembered Plan b – and it was a perfect time to try it…

'I don't want to sit down…' she was very calm as she walked towards him… 'I want…' she reached him and put a hand up to his chest…stroking up over the thin material of his shirt to his shoulder, her fingers sending little messages downwards to his dick - already on high alert from their little tussle on the ground earlier, although his brain was making a valiant effort to convince it that this was so not a good idea… Her voice was soft and her eyes were smiling blue up at him from that gorgeous face…'I need… you to make me forget… just for a little while…' her fingers moved up the side of his strong neck to lightly trace the scruff along his jaw… and damn it he could feel his dick winning… his brain giving up the fight without a struggle… 'Will you do that for me Monroe…?' she moved a step closer, and it was only reflex – or maybe because he (suddenly, and with the last of his sensible brain cells) remembered that this was a Matheson and that they always, always bounced back - that made him reach down and grab her other hand, and with it the handle of the knife that was heading towards his lower ribs…

He grinned, this was more like the Charlotte he was coming to know…and love… and twisting the knife out of her grip with one hand he bent her arm round behind her back with the other…holding her in place against him… 'I knew I should have frisked you while I had you down on the ground…' She smiled back at him – razor edged, her eyes glinting… 'I didn't think it'd work - but you can't blame a girl for trying…' she shrugged and he pulled her a little closer…her breasts mashing against his chest…

He put the knife behind him on the cupboard top… he'd secure it later…'I thought you said you wanted to fuck me then kill me…or did you change your mind…?' she slapped his cheek lightly with her free hand…her eyes gleaming and her lips curved in that cunning grin of hers…'I was just testing your reflexes Monroe…' she leaned back against the arm holding her…'but maybe I should show you that I'm not hiding anything else…?' he let her go of her arm, sliding his hand down across her ass, fingers catching on the rings of her belt…he let her go and she stepped back…her gaze steady on his…a little smile playing around her mouth…

She reached down and grasped the bottom of her tank top, yanking it up and over her head, dropping it on the floor behind her… He just watched her, not moving, although his dick was getting so hard he had to grip the edge of the cupboard to stop himself from reaching down and letting it out… Then she reached behind and unhooked her bra, pushing the straps down over her shoulders and dropping that too, standing in front of him, her high rounded breasts with their rosy tips moving up and down with her breath… and Bass felt his whole damned body tighten up… This was such a huge fucking monumentally bad idea but damn it if she had chosen him to be her pain killer he was fast running out of objections… In fact his cock and what was left of his brain were in total agreement that she was just what they needed too…and as she reached down and circled her breasts with her own hands, pinching and playing the nipples between her thumb and forefingers, his balls joined in the applause…and his pants were suddenly way, way too tight…

If he did this, if he let her have her way with him (and wasn't that a turn around Bass Monroe…) at least he'd know she was ok …because one thing he was absolutely sure of (especially given who he was playing with…) that if he didn't give her what she wanted then she would just go find herself some other guy and maybe end up hurt or worse - and he couldn't let that happen… and just the idea of someone else touching her now made him really want to kill something – preferably that someone else…

He smiled…ok then…and for a moment there he could actually hear Miles growling something at him about cutting his balls off… and he thought sorry, brother, but he really wasn't sorry at all… she was worth his balls – together with the rest of him…

He looked her up and down…she was gazing at him expectantly… 'Turn around Charlotte…' she lifted her hands in the air and did a 360…'Satisfied…?' he chuckled – a deep, dark sound that sent ripples down her belly…'Not nearly…' He came forward to meet her, brushing her hair back over her shoulders with both hands… his thumbs grazing her nipples and circling under her breasts…making them bounce just a little, she swayed a little towards him, chewing her bottom lip and his dick twitched, impatient… he told it to sit… 'Well you aren't hiding anything there…' Her breath hitched and he ran his hands down up and around the back of her neck, spreading his fingers through her hair… 'Nothing there either…' She licked her lips, eyes hazy… he ran a finger down her spine to the waistband of her jeans and that tantalising belt…he grinned sharply…'throwing stars Charlotte…?' she shrugged 'They were pretty…' he brought a hand around and fingered them approvingly… 'Very nice… sharp too… ' He trailed his fingers back up to the skin of her belly above her jeans… 'The bat belt will have to come off…'

She nodded…'Ok…' her voice was getting a little hoarse… He studied the belt… playing the game…'nice work… where did you get it?' she started to reach for the buckle…he held a hand up to stop her…'keep your hands up Charlotte, I'll do it…' she put her hands back up in the air and he reached a couple of his long fingers inside the waist band of her jeans to give him leverage; he could just feel the first few temptingly damp tendrils of hair down there with the tips of his fingers… he pushed one finger down between the soft curls, feeling the wet, smooth skin and folds parting and as his finger slid over her clit she folded forward over his hand with a gasp and a long moan, her thighs clenching… he pulled the fingers out leaving her panting, her lips open, tongue flicking over them, her cheeks flushed and eyes blue-black with pupils blown … God she looked amazing, and he loved this game… fuck Russian roulette – he had Charlotte Matheson…

'I got it in Chicago…a guy from … Minneapolis or…or Minnesota, somewhere like that…traded me some pelts for it…' she said, breathless… He unclipped the buckle and carefully took the belt off…'the throwing stars don't match the belt though…' she met his gaze…her eyes bright and dancing in the light of the lamps…'they're new… I bought them especially for you, Monroe…' he put the belt behind him on the table and reached for her hands again, directing both of them behind her back and holding them there with one hand… Then he bent down towards her lips and parted them with his own… he could still taste the whiskey in her mouth… he ran his tongue inside, meeting hers and they traded whiskey memory cells… she joined in and kissed him back, but he kept her hands firmly in his just the same…

When they finally came up for air… her eyes glinting and hazy, lips swollen, his mouth tingling…'You do realise Charlotte…' he said, a sort of laugh in his voice….'that even if you don't manage to kill me… Miles will for doing this…? She laughed too…. But it came out more like a sob…'He's a really long way away Monroe… and do you really think any of us are going to last that long…?' He stared down at her, forgetting for a moment the feel of her warm, smooth skin under his hands as his blood went cold – did she really believe that…? Then she moved closer to him, pressing her body against his, those breasts cushioning against his chest, her hair a golden mass surrounding her shoulders… and all other thoughts left him except her…

He undid the buttons of her jeans with his free hand but left them on…he had to deal with her boots next…but before that… he stroked his hand over her hip and round to her back, slipping it down under her jeans waistband and over the cheeks of her ass… then he let her hands go and pushed his other hand down too… feeling the smooth springy flesh of her ass cheeks under his fingers…

Charlie felt his fingers rough against her skin and it felt so good that she couldn't stop her hips flexing towards him… he spread his fingers out and lifted, pulling her towards him … She felt as though the world was tilting on its axis…she was doing this, this forbidden thing… she laughed a little crazily up at him… 'Did you ever think tonight would end up like this Monroe?' he grinned back, equally as crazy but intent on the feel her flesh in his hands….'can't say I did Charlie' he lifted an eyebrow…' I must admit that I thought about it a few times though when I was watching you stalking me around that tent…' he pulled his hands out from the back of her jeans and slid them around the smooth flesh of her waist to the front… she sucked in her stomach and he slipped a hand down the front of her…. one of his big fingers sliding down the curly hair and between the lips of her sex over her clit again, so easily… she was so wet… the others forcing her legs apart just by being there… his other hand went back around her waist, holding her in position…

He looked down at her, his eyes like jewels, the lamplight catching in them like little blue and gold flames….'Your eyes are so blue, Monroe...' she murmured, he chuckled 'So I've been told…' his fingers were playing wonderful music over her clit and between her legs, plunging in and out of her, rough and smooth at the same time and she closed her eyes and leaned her head forward against his chest for a moment because it felt so good… she felt as though her whole body was dissolving into liquid as his so clever fingers slid around and in her…and she just let herself go for the first time in such a long time… and then she came and came and came and she thought her knees would give out and she'd fall but she didn't because he held her up…

He slowly pulled his hand out…and she moaned out her loss…'Monroe…' he ran his hands up and over her breasts then back down… God she was gorgeous... He undid the remaining buttons of her jeans and knelt to pull them down over her full hips to her ankles… then he swallowed… his self control was going to have a real beating tonight, in fact it was in a little heap on the floor under her feet along with her jeans… 'Charlotte… you look like every straight man's dream…' he took a deep breath and looked up at her… and she gazed down at him…her eyes glazed… her hair tousled and tangled round her shoulders… her smooth skin flushed and glistening… the dark gold triangle of curls between her legs drawing his gaze like a magnet…

She rested one hand on his shoulder and lifted a foot, he pulled first her boot and then the fabric away then she did the same with the other foot and she stood there…naked and beautiful and he felt any remaining defences against her drift away like mist… He could feel her need for more… and every cell in his body was humming with it…

Charlie reached for the buttons of his shirt… 'Your turn…' she pulled at the shirt and he stood up, knowing that there was no hiding how much he wanted her now… She undid the buttons and pushed the shirt back over his hard shoulders pulling it down his arms and off… she gave him a lazy smile… her hands stroking over the skin of his chest, thumbs brushing his nipples and making him gasp and them pucker…running her hands down the hard muscles of his arms, one hand pausing over the mass of scars where his tattoo used to be… she raised her eyes to his – but she didn't ask him why… she knew why…

She stepped back a little and dropped her hands down to the buckle of his belt… then lower, spreading her fingers over the long hard bulge imprisoned below it… and he sucked in a breath… She dropped down to her knees and undid the buckle, then the buttons underneath, peeling back the fabric and pulling it in one movement all the way down his strong legs – she laughed… 'You like going commando too Monroe…?' and his voice came down to her, hoarse and low…'I ran out of clean ones yesterday…' his cock sprang free, long and proud and so glad to feel the air and her fingers circling and rubbing, her other hand running lightly up the inside of his thigh… Bass thought ruefully that while he may not have intended for things to go all the way they were going he honestly didn't think he had the strength to pull back now…

Charlie stood gracefully, in one lithe movement… running both hands up over the smooth skin and hard contours of his torso to hold onto his shoulders, then she leaned against him, her body flush with his… He stroked his hands down her back…then reached further down to the springy flesh of her ass, pulling her even closer…. She let out a little gasp and a murmur of impatience, lifting a leg and twisting it round his, rubbing her swollen sex against him… her breasts pressed against his chest like twin electrodes…sending him reeling… Bass moved his arms around her back and thighs and swung her around, dropping her onto the bed behind them, pulling her forward so that her knees hung over the edge and her hair fanned behind her like a golden shawl… he dropped to his in front of her and lifted her legs up over his shoulders… then looked at her… Charlie was watching him avidly, her eyes full of an incredible mix of hunger, triumph, anticipation and amazement… he got lost in her eyes for a moment…but he needed to make sure… 'Charlotte…?' she focused, her voice clear and steady… 'The answer's yes, Monroe, so don't you dare stop now…'

He took his cock in his hand and blindly guided the hungry head through the soft damp folds of flesh, watching her all the time, watching how her breasts moved up and down with her rapid breaths, how her tongue snaked over her lips… how her eyes became softer and little gasps came from her mouth… He got himself positioned and waited there for a moment, the head of his cock just starting to stretch her out… running his hands up her thighs and back down to stroke over her pussy, his thumbs framing her clit, finding the little ridge of firm flesh so sensitive that the slightest movement of his made her quiver, the skin of her belly tightening… The sight of a woman spread out beneath him was always a wonder to him – but the sight of Charlotte there filled him with something he couldn't name… He put his hands either side of her hips, pulling them forward slowly and just as slowly pressing himself inside her… she was tight but so wet that he watched himself slide into her like a dream…

Charlie looked at Sebastian Monroe, there in front of her… and she could feel him stretching her out until he was completely buried inside her; her thighs and ass cushioned against his chest…her body completely open to him at that moment… Then she gazed at his face; his eyes were intent on her but half closed in concentration and intense sensation…a little frown coming and going between his brows as he moved in and out of her… his lips slightly open…. He was so beautiful - like a sharp bladed knife, all hard angles and sharp edges and sheer masculine power but he was being so gentle with her… Then suddenly he was all the way in and she felt so incredibly full… he pulled out then pressed back in again slowly but then faster until they were together in a tornado of movement that left her clear and weightless… and she felt the world fall apart and reform into something new…

He gasped and withdrew, spilling himself onto the sheets below her… holding on to her legs for balance, his breath harsh and gasping… and looked down at Charlie, lying back on the bed, her hair in a glorious riot around her shoulders…. Breasts rising and falling as her breathing gradually slowed back down… She gazed back at him, then sat up facing him, her cheeks flushed from their lovemaking, her eyes a limpid blue… then she glanced down at her left hand – and as he followed her eyes with his own he saw that she was holding one of the same throwing stars he had noticed on her belt – one that he'd obviously and stupidly missed (never underestimate a Matheson) little drops of blood around the points where they had dug into her palm. She looked at it thoughtfully… 'I could have killed you then Monroe… and you wouldn't have known a thing…' She looked up at him again, a little frown between her brows, her eyes solemn 'but I didn't do it… Do you want to know why…?'

Bass let go of her legs and sat back on his heels, getting his breath back… and he'd thought he was doing so well… But then Matheson's seemed to have a habit of almost killing him when he was – temporarily – incapacitated, or asleep… 'Because you're not the monster you think you are Charlotte…?' he paused for breath…'or maybe you suddenly realised that I'm really not that bad?' she raised an eyebrow…and he shrugged and took another breath… She was still sitting there though – and not throwing the star at him… so he – and she - might just survive this… 'Or maybe it was because I was busy giving you my all at the time and you didn't want to stop the show…?'

She nodded… 'Maybe…' a little smile escaped and twitched the corners of her mouth…'you seemed to know what you were doing…' he quietly moved his hands onto his knees (ready to protect his head if needed…) 'I take my fucking pretty seriously Charlotte…I have my reputation to consider…' he moved his feet a bit further underneath him, just getting ready he told himself; responding to the ingrained reflexes of survival… 'Did it get rid of the…you know…?' he asked casually… she tipped her head and considered… 'Yeah… maybe…' she narrowed her eyes at him…'But don't get cocky about it though…it's too soon to be sure…' he laughed out loud at that…and thought suddenly that she would be ok… and if she had decided to kill him then - well…it would have been a pretty good way to go…

He decided to take a chance…'so why didn't you?' she looked straight at him…that beautiful face like the mask of nemesis herself… 'I wanted you to know that I could have done it…that I could still do it…that I wasn't just a helpless girl…' and she smiled…it was a smile that told him that she hadn't forgiven him – or forgotten who he was and what he'd done, yet… that he still had a long way to go if he wanted that – and he knew suddenly that he did, he wanted it very, very much…

He decided then…'I need to leave here Charlie… It's only a matter of time before someone recognises me… There are new bounty hunters every day – and there was a wanted poster put up on the gate – luckily it didn't look much like me… but sooner or later…' He shrugged…'I thought maybe we could join forces for a little while…you know, watch each other's back…?' she gazed at him…'I don't know…' she pulled her legs up, sitting unselfconsciously cross legged on the bed… which was low enough that he had a view of her that would give him something to dream about for a very long time…'I've only just gotten used to you maybe not being the boogy man anymore…' she was turning the star over and over in her hand… he could see it's edges twinkling…as sharp edged as this world had made both of them…

He frowned, …'I won't pretend that I'm something I'm not, Charlie… ' His eyes were eerily intense on her… 'I have an awful lot of darkness in me… and I think you do too… but being out here on your own...? Sooner or later you'll find yourself in the same position you were today – and it might be someone who really is the boogy man… at least for you…' He leaned forward…'Charlie – I'm part of your family whether you want it or not…' her eyes fired up and she swung up onto her hands and knees – staring him right in the face… 'You're delusional Monroe' she said coldly… 'You're responsible for the deaths of half my family… you aren't part of my family… You just helped me scratch an itch…' He bit back an angry reply…defending himself with the truth wouldn't help at the moment, and he didn't think she was ready to hear it… she was partly right anyway…and he'd been stupid to say that he was part of her family no matter that that was how he felt – and how it had been…he had been part of her family since before she was born... He felt the world spinning into darkness once again…. 'Charlotte… I…'

Suddenly there was a pounding on the door…'hey Jimmy… Jimmy…?' Monroe tensed… he met Charlie's stare… her eyes were still angry but she was watching him carefully… she knew something was off about this… he got up and went over to the door… speaking through the tiny gap at the edge…keeping one eye on her…he really wasn't sure what she was going to do next…'What is it Bookie…I'm tired…' 'Gould wants to see you – right away…' the voice sounded on edge… Monroe was silent for a minute… 'Alright… tell him I'll be a few minutes though… I got to get dressed…' the voice came again, definitely shaky this time 'Ok… Jimmy, I'll tell him…be quick though ok…?'

Monroe waited until he was pretty sure he'd had gone then he turned to Charlie… she was standing up now…watching him intently…ready and alert… she looked beautiful and dangerous and he fixed her image in his mind…in case he never had another chance… 'You'd better get dressed and get your stuff together Charlotte…' she nodded once, walking over towards him and quickly finding and getting into her clothes…'What's going on?' her voice was cold, distant and his lips twisted in a grim smile… He'd been a fool to think that what had happened between them tonight would change anything… a fool to think that this fucked up world might let him have anything that was good…he shrugged 'Gould would never want to see me this late... he'll be happily plugging his brawny sidekick – or being plugged, not really sure which way that works…' he shrugged…' but Bookie's voice didn't sound right… someone's got to him…' he turned to find his own clothes and weapons… talking quietly as he dressed… 'I'll go ahead, draw whoever it is away…they'll be after me so… I'll take care of them….' She nodded, he was right…it was his problem although he was hers…and she didn't like people muscling in when she was hunting…

'Charlotte…?' she looked up at him….'yeah?' he was giving her that intense 'I really mean it' look… she was wary of it now… 'What I said about travelling together… I meant it…two swords really are better than one….' she didn't say anything… just quietly collected her things and finished getting ready… he let out a harsh breath and looked away…'If you decide you want to come with me, give me an hour – if I'm not back by then…' he shrugged… 'But don't go back to Gould's… get as far away from this place as you can and head back to Miles…' he strapped his knife to his belt and pushed a gun into its holster…'if you want to go on your own…' she was fastening that damn throwing star to her belt and hesitated a moment… 'Wait a few minutes before going…ok…' she finished fixing the star and looked up at him… her eyes cold 'I'm not a kid Monroe…stop treating me like one…'

He shook his head, 'You think you're so clever Charlotte…just because you - almost - stuck a little bit of metal in me…?' the eyes went stormy and angry… good… She needed to be…'You don't know what's out there… remember how easily I took you in the dark? He came closer, looming over her… suddenly looking a lot like the General from Philadelphia and the Tower… 'And you really need to get a handle on those hormones of yours…some guy who is not as nice as me is really going to fuck you over one day if you don't…' she stared at him… 'You bastard…'

He backed off and turned away, tired of her anger, tired of being angry, tired of it all; he belted on his swords…'Charlotte, whatever you think of me… believe me about this…' she still just stared at him…eyes still angry… He'd hoped that things could be different, but maybe there was just too much death – and other things - between them…He could still try to do his best for her though…for her sake even more than for Miles… 'Things are going to get really bad really soon Charlie, I can feel it coming… you need to get to your family and friends… I know it isn't all good there, but being on your own sucks… And when you get there…tell Miles that I'm sorry…' She checked the hang of her knife…'sorry for what…?' 'Sorry that it all went wrong…' she studied the floor then shrugged…'ok…I'll tell him…when I see him…'

He took a deep breath… 'Charlotte…?' he reached out to open the door, 'You are an incredible woman… believe that… even though sometimes things look dark…and I'm glad we met tonight, even if you did try to kill me a few times…you reminded me that there are some good things in the world as well as bad…and that I'm not as alone as I thought I was…' as he turned to go he thought he saw something change in her eyes… he opened the door… 'Monroe…?' her voice was quiet…'I...I'll think about it…' he bent his head… and smiled a little…'That's good…I'll see you, maybe…' she turned one of the lamps off, 'Maybe…' he left, shutting the door behind him.

…

Charlie stood there for a moment…then turned the other lamp off, and going to the door she listened to make sure that he'd gone, shutting her eyes to jump start her night vision, then opened the door quietly and stepped out… The moon was still out as she followed him, headed back towards Gould's tent…but the night was full of shadows… She saw Monroe's head and shoulders silhouetted against the sky as he walked quietly along a slight rise between tents and an enclosure with a few goats bleating … she slung her crossbow off her back, taking a bolt from her bag and setting it up as she walked, crouching to keep out of sight… she paused for a moment and got him in her sights, just to see what it felt like… but her trigger finger didn't seem to want to move…

If someone was coming after Monroe surely they'd strike soon before he got to the front of the tent in sight of other people…? And she'd be there to stop them; because he was hers... she just didn't know what she wanted to do with him yet… He confused her – and she really hated being confused; her body was still buzzing from fucking him, he was fascinating and infuriating, she hadn't met anyone else like him and he made her feel things she didn't want to feel… She should hate him and part of her still did, but another part of her had seen a different side to Monroe and she didn't know how to reconcile that with all the rest of it…yet…

Suddenly she saw a figure come flying up behind him, hitting him on the head with some sort of weapon…Monroe fell… She took the shot and the bolt went flying towards the other guy - but she knew she'd missed… She moved quickly but quietly towards them…taking cover as she went… she was damned if she was going to let anyone else have him… She saw the guy dragging Monroe, obviously unconscious… and it was then she saw the second man, older, long beard – talking in some language that she didn't know… who helped the first carry/drag Monroe to a van pulled by two horses… Charlie slumped… shit, she couldn't handle the two of them with the weapons she had so now she'd have to follow them… They tossed him in the back, jumped on and took off, Shit…

Charlie tracked the wagon…they hadn't gone that far thankfully and she found them camped in a group of old buildings surrounding an empty pool…first guy was sleeping on his bedroll near the edge of the pool, old guy was sitting at a camp table looking at an old book in the bright light of a lamp…

She made a small noise and old guy picked up a pistol and came looking… She waited until he was out of sight of first guy and knocked him out with a long piece of wood… it was either kill or disable both of them or just sneak Monroe away so she could deal with him… She didn't like the odds although the pistol helped, and she'd rather not kill them if she didn't have to so it looked like option b had the points… She took the pistol and headed to the pool… keeping an eye on first guy on the bedroll while she peeked over the edge… They had tied Monroe at the deep end, standing, at the bottom of an old ladder that dropped down the side… He didn't look good, she could see blood on the side of his face and he was slumped against the lowest rung – which was at his head level …he was still upright though…and she had to give him that… he was a survivor…

She could just kill him now and that would be it – no more confusion…although then she'd still have to deal with the two men – and they'd be really pissed with her for ruining their bounty… she'd also never find out what it was about Monroe that had made her interested in living again…

She stared at Monroe for just a moment too long and didn't see first guy reaching for his shotgun - but she really did feel it when he shot her, pellets scattering like balls of fire into her right shoulder, the pain of that tipping her into the dark although that meant she wasn't awake to notice the pain of landing on the tiles at the bottom of the pool…or Monroe's startled – and alarmed - look as she fell…

Monroe watched as they dragged her over and tied her up too, hanging her from the edge of the pool with a rope around her waist… the injury on her shoulder didn't look that bad – there was very little blood so he suspected they'd used salt… painful and effective but not serious, and he thought that she had probably been unconscious and limp when she hit the bottom of the pool so apart from some bruises she should be ok from that too… lucky her…he felt like crap that had been crapped on…at least she was unconscious…

Well, now he knew the neighbours… He really wasn't sure if she had been there to kill him or rescue him… although he sort of doubted the latter… and in just another one of life's little ironies, now he guessed he'd have to rescue her as well as get away himself… but then at least she'd owe him one... He continued chipping away at the grout of the loose tile behind his back… it was lucky that they seemed to want him alive too…

It was just after dawn when she woke up and looked around, disoriented… he blinked at her, all the energy he could spare… although he nearly had the tile loose… so…'Rise and shine…'

…..

AN: thanks so much for reading… and here we are, back in canon – or are we? A couple of things have changed and like the butterfly flapping its wings in Argentina and causing a hurricane in Brazil… small changes can make a big difference… all the best, Magpie


	3. Chapter 3

**Ride, ride my see saw…**

A Revolution fic: Charloe, Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Mention of characters from the show including, Ely Gould, the Bookie, Miles, Rachael and Danny Matheson, Aaron Pittman, the Patriots, Tom and Jason Neville, Will Strausser, the Bounty Hunters (Adam)… The story is based on a prompt from the Good Ship Charloe writer's page – where Bass sees Charlie with the Bookie in Gould's fight tent in New Vegas and knows she's the one asking for him…

Rating M

**Author's note: **

Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this… and for some lovely reviews, follows and favourites… Please leave a comment if you have a moment, this story wouldn't let me go so I hope you enjoy the next bit…

I don't own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters. There are some lines adapted from the relevant episodes of the show (some in different order and context though…)

**Ride, ride my see-saw**… Part 3.

Charlie woke with a start and bright light assaulted her eyes…making it hard to see…she shut them again…trying to adjust to the light… Where the fuck was she? Her right shoulder was on fire, her abdomen felt as though she'd been walked on by a horse… and most of her back as well as a good percentage of both legs – and her butt - were sore as all hell, in fact she was one big ball of hopefully non-life threatening pain…and she really needed to pee… She opened her eyes a slit again… her wrists were tied together with coils of rope and when she tried to lift them she found that that rope was attached to another that ran around her waist a few times then snaked up above her head… which must have been what had partly held her up while she was out to it and why her ribs felt like she was being squeezed by a bear…Shit… She opened her eyes all the way again and cautiously started to look around…

'Rise and shine…' his voice, hoarse and dry but still unmistakable, came from her right and there he was, tied up like a Monroe parcel, leaning on the wall of the pool… Resting as well as he could in the circumstances, one knee splayed out, the other leg holding his weight… his head resting tiredly against the bottom rung of the pool ladder. He looked even worse than she felt…and that was pretty damn crappy… He still somehow managed to look big and powerful and drop dead gorgeous though - even nearly dropping dead, damn it… a little part of her hoped that she had some of the tied up but still beautiful and dangerous look herself, she'd hate to let the team down… She shot him her best 'you are a stain on the bottom of my boot' smirk… just because she felt like crap and he was the only available human she could take it out on… His mouth twitched and he lifted an eyebrow, eyes somehow telling her that this was only temporary, that he had a plan… Good…

She looked at what she could see of his hands, they were tied behind his back, there was a little blood dripping from his fingers… and then she saw the line of tiles behind him, running around the pool… He was already working away at escaping; she widened her smirk into a sort of admiring grin, she had to respect Monroe's sheer will to survive… in the face of everything – even her… Then she winced as her assorted injuries reminded her of their presence - and that her hands were tied in front of her…well, Shit again…

Mr First guy came sauntering down the slope of the pool towards her, passing Monroe without looking at him, idiot…FG was good looking enough that another time she might have tried to be nice and get him to let her go that way - but she was completely and utterly pissed off and didn't think she could be that good an actress… It also felt a bit strange thinking of using that strategy in front of Monroe – something like betrayal…? Which was just stupid, she'd only fucked him once…. She had the feeling that he'd understand though, after all he had told her to go back to her family… What she didn't understand was why both of them were still alive…especially him…

FG stopped in front of her and smiled as though he was about to do her a big favour, 'Alright, listen up…' he was carrying a jar of honey and a wooden spoon… She felt so not warm and fuzzy seeing as how he'd shot her in the first place… She just stared at him, blank face… 'I'm going to patch you up but if you try anything cute you'll get a lot more than a blast of rock salt…' he tipped his head up towards the top of the pool 'I think you've already met my partner…? Well you've kinda pissed him off already and he's really hoping you'll go with cute…' and she saw old guy up on the edge, his rifle pointing straight at her… saying something in his own language that sounded a lot like he didn't give a crap about her health and well-being… FG's eyes moved up and down over her making her skin crawl and her hand itch for her knife… 'He says his favourite magazine has a picture of someone a lot like you in it…' he smiled… 'Although she's wearing a whole lot less…' he stirred the spoon through the honey pot… 'So, if I were you I wouldn't give him any more ideas…' Charlie felt her stomach churn at the thought…survival was the thing though… She nodded…playing dumb and scared… She could feel Monroe's eyes on her although she didn't want to look at him, she didn't want to draw any attention to him if he was working on something… then she wondered at herself… This was so weird…just yesterday the only thing she could think about was killing him and now… well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that…for the time being anyway…

FG came closer and pushed back the hair from her right shoulder, she jerked back… even that hurt, then he pushed her jacket back over the wounds on her shoulder and that hurt so much a gasp of pain pushed its way out despite her trying to stop it… out of the corner of her eye she saw Monroe look down and away, his jaw working… She'd felt him tense up as the guy made his little speech… then she remembered his hands on her last night, hard and strong but always gentle… even tied up and bloody he made this guy seem like a non-event…and the pain went away a tiny bit…

'So how'd you find Monroe…' something in her face must have reacted to that because his eyes narrowed and a little smile twisted his mouth…'Yeah, we know who he really is…' Fool, she thought, of course you do, why take him otherwise… He started dabbing honey onto the wounds in her shoulder and it burned like fire…her breath came out in hoarse pants while he did it but she didn't scream again…she didn't say anything… she just thought of Monroe's hands, his mouth on her, his cock in her…last night…. Dumb Fuck Bounty Hunter said something but she was concentrating too hard on not letting him see how much it hurt to get all of it… 'I get why you want to kill …. asshat… I mean… dropped the bombs on Atlanta and Philly'… she heard Monroe say something about sure it was him and the guy telling him to cram it… then Douche bag DF turned back to her… and finally stopped dabbing her with that fucking honey... and the pain died down to almost tolerable embers…

'We've been tracking him for months… can't just let you screw it up by killing him…' she tried to moisten her lips although her tongue didn't really want to cooperate… 'So what're you going to do?' he looked a little surprised and gave her a grin that he obviously thought was charming… 'You can talk….' He put the spoon back in its pot… 'We're still debating – depends on how pleasant you can be…' she gave him the sneer she'd stolen from Miles adding a touch of raised eyebrow 'With Monroe…?' and it was as though she'd slapped him… poor little Bounty Hunter… didn't know the first thing about the trouble he was in… and he answered her like the sap he was… 'We'll take him to our employers… ' She changed the sneer to a 'that's interesting tell me more' glare… 'Who're they?' he shrugged… 'Call themselves the US Government…' Charlie and Monroe were almost in unison… 'What US Government…?' DF turned to Monroe…'you'll find out soon enough…' Charlie wanted his attention back on her…'Why don't you just put a bullet in his brain and take him in dead…?' she felt Monroe's eyeroll at that one… but they hadn't done it yet ergo they weren't going to, besides saying it was in character - for her anyway…' Douche bag Dumb Fuck (she liked that, DB for short…) took a breath…'They want him alive, they were quite clear on the subject…'

She lost it… this guy was a total no brain… 'Then you're even dumber than you look…' She put a teeny little bit more of her genetic heritage into her 'you poor unbelievably stupid moron' smirk 'And believe me that makes you seriously dumb…' he stared at her 'What…?' She twisted the knife….'He's just going to escape and slit your throat, and then you'll have nothing…' He looked down and folded a piece of wadding into four… pulled her jacket back over her shoulder then shoved the wadding under it, pressing a little bit harder than necessary and making her flinch… but still being nicer than she could believe… She wondered how he'd survived this long…

She glanced quickly over at Monroe… he was watching her, a strange smile playing around his mouth, eyes watchful - but a bit – sad too? She'd have to ask him about that later… Douche bag DF stepped back… he seemed so taken aback; such a shame…then his eyes hardened… 'I liked you better when you weren't talking…' he took his honey and turned away… Charlie called out to him 'Hey… I need the bathroom…' he shrugged and kept walking 'Hold it in...or let it out, I don't care… when I'm ready I might come back…' she cursed herself this time… why the hell did she always have to keep pushing… well, suck it up Charlie…

He waited until DF was a few minutes gone… then 'So where are they? Miles and your Mom…? I'm guessing that Miles is wherever she is, unless they had a falling out…' Monroe's voice was a welcome distraction but she kept her eyes fixed ahead…she didn't feel like talking yet – especially about that…and in fact she really was trying very hard not to throw up; lack of food and water, her assorted collection of pains and the fact that the rope seemed to be getting tighter round her middle were combining to make her feel quite nauseous… Monroe appeared to realize because he stopped talking for a minute… Then she got her stomach and breathing a bit more under control and leaned back against the wall… and he tried again…

'You were there… at the tower…' his voice was quiet…but it brought back memories that sounded as loud as thunder in her head… 'It was Randall, wasn't it… Randall who pushed the button…' she bit her lip and nodded… the images playing in nightmare flashes in her head, the insane eyes of the man inside that room; Miles' desperate countdown, 15.. 14… Aaron frantically typing… Randall smashing the big red button… her mom banging on the window…the way the white curved lines on the screens became all red and then suddenly there were silent explosions that looked so small but were actually whole cities that burst into light like new suns on screens labelled Philadelphia and Atlanta… then Randall telling Rachael he was a Patriot, putting his gun to his own head… her Mom staring in horror as everything fell apart…

Monroe interrupted the stream…'I walked him in the front door… I might just as well have pushed the button myself…' he sounded so sad it was pathetic…

Charlie didn't want him sad; sad was no good to either of them… Randall was Randall – he'd have got in somehow – and he couldn't have pushed that button if her Mom hadn't (_left Nora to die_…) and told Aaron to push his own little black button to turn the power back on in the first place… she glared at Monroe… He was still agonising… Why did everyone she knew have to fucking agonize all the time over who was to blame for what and how much…? Sure he was responsible for a hell of a lot of shit but then so was everyone else…she was beginning to understand that more and more… 'I'm sure you're just torn up with guilt…' she said deliberately… He looked at her as though she had sprouted horns… 'You don't know me Charlotte…' he stood up a bit straighter and his eyes were wet… damn it…he didn't have the right to cry… if he did then she did and she refused to cry anymore…

He opened his mouth again… 'A lot of people depended on me to keep them safe… and what did they get for it…' he turned those tear filled eyes away from her and she was glad, she didn't want to see them… 'Burned in their own skin…' Charlie had had enough… 'Did it ever occur to you that you sucked at your job…?' he stiffened and turned towards her, straining at his ropes and suddenly she was glad he was tied up because he was suddenly and coldly furious…with her… His eyes snapped at her like blue sparks, reaching for her when his hands couldn't… 'Maybe Miles has the right to speak to me like that… maybe… but you don't…' he leaned towards her as far as he could… 'So watch your mouth…'

That was more like it… but she pushed it again, just like she always did…. And she gave him a smile he would remember for ever – challenging him and pulling him fighting out of his well of self-pity… and her next words pierced him like bolts from her bow…' You're nothing…. Just a drunk fighting for coin in a whorehouse… and if you won't put yourself out of your misery… I'll be happy to do it for you…' He gasped and stared in disbelief at her… arrogance...? Temerity...? Then he shook his head – a grin spreading across his face…a strange little laugh escaping him… although his eyes were fixed on hers and promising retribution…sometime soon… Charlie felt her insides turn molten and wet at the promise in those eyes, and she remembered her hands on him and his on her and how he'd known exactly what she needed… Because he had seen through her… 'Charlie… you might be trying to run away from your Mom, but you're a hell of lot like her…' she grinned a feral promise back… There he was, as he should be…her beautiful beast… and prey well worth hunting…

Suddenly he went still… then she realised she could hear the two DF's getting heated about something up on top of the pool edge…and that Monroe was listening to them; she couldn't quite hear what they were saying but he was just that little bit closer… Then things went quiet up top and he glanced across at her, his eyes intensely blue against the tan of his face…and he whispered 'Charlie… don't fight them…just do what they say…' Then he slumped back against the wall of the pool, his eyes shut… he looked like he'd passed out or something and she frowned…what…?

Then she saw that DF was coming back down...this time he looked Monroe over but shrugged and kept on walking when he saw him apparently out cold… Charlie didn't like the look on his face… and he wouldn't meet her eyes… She took a deep breath; she had a feeling she needed to keep it together now… 'There's an old toilet block up top…' he tipped his head towards the ramp up and out of the pool… 'I'll take you up…' the rope from her waist to the top of the pool suddenly went slack and fell to the ground at her feet… and glancing up at the pool edge she saw the bearded figure of the other DF… his shotgun pointed straight down at her… DF1 brought out a knife and pressed the point to her throat with one hand while he reached down with the other to pick up the rope…winding it a few times round her arms and chest to take up the slack… He kept a little length free, wrapped it round his hand a couple of times then pushed her forwards a couple of steps… She staggered and nearly fell, her legs stiff after being still for so long… but she kept her feet… 'If you're good I'll even give you some food…' He started walking her out of the pool, his knife still pressed to her throat… He stopped them in front of Monroe for a long moment but Monroe didn't move – and he looked so…drawn and hurt…even…defeated? She felt her heart sink… she didn't think he'd been injured that badly but… DF let out a little chuckle…'Doesn't look so big and bad now does he…' he shoved her forward again…'but then I don't think the US guys need him for that long anyway…'

…

Once Charlie and the creep vanished over the edge of the pool, Monroe quickly checked up around the edges – there was no sign of the bearded guy either now… Which was good for him, but not so good for Charlie… He worked harder at freeing the sharp edged piece of tile, cursing the blood dripping from several cuts on his fingers, because it was making it hard for him to grip…he was nearly there though… He felt fear for her swirl in his gut… and what scared him most was the thought that she would do something to make them hurt her badly or kill her before he could get there… She had already burned her bridges with the younger one although he had loved watching her metaphorically tear the guy to shreds – she was fierce and fearless…and had made him believe in something again… He gritted his teeth and pulled hard…. And she had known just how to bring Sebastian Monroe raging back from his deep pit of guilt… The piece of tile suddenly broke free and he nearly fell forward, catching himself just in time… now for the ropes…

…

DF1 pushed Charlie forward and she stepped over the lip of the pool onto the crumbling concrete edging and then the sparse weedy growth around that… DF2 came around to meet them… He said something in whatever language it was he used… and DF1 pushed her along towards a small building at the end of a path, 'He wants you to do what you need to do then have a wash, he says you're dirty and he likes his whores clean…he's set up a bucket of water in there and some soap…' Charlie had a flashback to Drexel's place... 'Does he have a special little outfit for me in there too?' DF1 pushed her again harder… then yanked on the rope… she staggered again…His voice was urgent… 'Look, I don't hold with rape… but you really pissed him off hitting him on the head like that…' he pulled on the rope and turned her round so she could see him… 'So here's the deal… if you're nice to him, and do what he wants, he won't hurt you and we'll let you go… after… you have my word…' Charlie looked up at him… he was tall, not as tall as Monroe but tall and strong…and she was still tied up… She decided that doing what they wanted, like Monroe said… for the time being and until an opportunity presented itself, was maybe the best option she had… 'Ok… I guess I can be nice…' The guy practically swooned with relief… well at least now she was sure which one was in charge…

She just had to go along with it a bit longer, do what she could to help herself – they'd have to untie her if they wanted her clean… delay things as much as possible to give Monroe time to get that tile unglued and get free – that's if he wasn't really as nearly dead as he'd looked… and that he felt like helping her at all after what she'd said…

Charlie looked behind DF…hell he didn't deserve an abbreviation…she looked behind Dumb Fuck and saw Bearded creep, shotgun slung over his shoulder… He looked her up and down, his lips twisted behind the long beard in what she thought he meant to be a threatening sneer…his eyes focusing for a long moment on her breasts… which bulged a bit - squished up by the ropes… then he held up a magazine, pointing to it with his other hand and grabbed his crotch, thrusting forward… she tried to look suitably impressed and smiled brightly at him…nodding… He looked taken aback for a moment but then a satisfied smile crossed his face…

Charlie looked back at Dumb Fuck… 'Hey - does he speak any English at all…?' Dumbo shrugged…'Enough to get by – he just doesn't like using it…says he might be the last of his kind and he's going to keep using his own language till he dies…' Charlie hoped that was going to be soon….'Ok…so he can understand what I say then…' Dumbface nodded 'Yeah…so don't get smart…he's stronger than he looks and meaner too…' Charlie turned around and started walking… 'Well, I might as well get it over with...' Dumbass caught up...'He's not that bad either, just be nice…' Damn it she'd run out of adjectives beginning with Dumb… Aaron would be ashamed of her…'Really… What's your name anyway…?' he looked startled…'Why do you want to know…?' she looked at him and smiled again… 'I just like to know who I might be fucking…I guess I'm funny like that…' he cleared his throat and looked away… 'I'm Adam… and… he's Gregor' her lips were tired of holding that stupid smile so she let him see her real face… So he didn't hold with rape but was willing to go along with it if someone else told him too… how pathetic… 'Adam…' there must have been something in her voice because he cleared his throat again and shoved her forward… 'Get moving…'

They got to the door of the old shower and toilet block; there was a lamp on the ground that Adam lit and picked up… then he shoved her inside… It was a long concrete box of a room, cracked and mostly broken wooden bench along one wall, dirty sinks and broken mirrors in a double rank down the middle, toilets and showers half and half along the other wall… no other exit, tiny oblong windows running around the perimeter of the room near the grimy ceiling… On the bench were two plastic buckets of water, a cake of hard soap, and what looked like an actual towel, she was flattered, really... And then of course there it was, draped over the edge of the bench… The dress… Black and tiny, it was almost identical to the one she'd worn at Drexel's… she sighed…déjà vu, how are you…

'Adam…?' he was just standing there as though he didn't know what to do next…'yeah…?' Charlie looked meaningfully at one of the toilet cubicles – there were no doors… 'I'll be able to get ready a lot quicker if you aren't watching me…' she pointed her chin down to the ropes still coiled around her then around the room…'and you'll need to undo all of this…I mean…its not as though I can go anywhere…' he jumped… 'Oh…' She stood still while he unwound her…then 'Why are you doing this for him… you don't seem to like it much…' he stopped for a moment but wouldn't meet her eyes…'I owe him… but you're right, I don't like this…' he sighed, then started coiling the rope… 'But I guess he's old and…' She interrupted…'Stop making excuses for him… there were plenty of women in New Vegas who were actually whores' she felt bad saying that, but it was the truth… and he looked embarrassed 'Gregor gambles…he lost his money so he couldn't afford… you know… that's why we were so happy to get Monroe – he's worth a hell of a lot….' She sighed again and held her hands out…he undid the rope around her wrists and she slowly stretched her hands out and arms out, the feeling rushing back to her fingers in pins and needles…

Adam stepped back, knife ready, well at least he was paying her some respect… He took the lamp with him – it was light enough anyway… 'I'll just be out here so don't even think of doing anything stupid… As soon as he was out of sight, Charlie took a quick inventory… they'd taken her chain belt, her jeans belt…her main knives and had obviously found her boot knives…damn… She still had her bra on so they hadn't found the wires strung through the straps…she pulled it out and slipped it in her pocket…she looked around, first things first… then she needed to work out how to get out of here… Adam's voice came from outside…'I can't hear you getting ready…' 'I'm just taking care of…you know…' she called back… hearing him shuffle away a little… 'Oh…yeah…ok…'

…..

Bass Monroe stood at the bottom of the pool; a coil of rope held loosely in one hand… his only weapon at this stage, although he could still do a lot with that… He studied the steepish incline leading out of the pool then headed up the slope as fast and as quietly as he could, wincing a little as his many aches made their presence felt, shimmying up the last bit on his side… He peered over the ledge...the bearded man was sitting at the concrete picnic table on the grass a few metres away, most of his back to Monroe… He seemed to be studying the pages of a magazine on the table in front of him, mumbling to himself... his shotgun on the table near his right arm, part of his left visible moving up and down in front of him, his right hand restlessly tapping the page in front of him… Ok… so where was Charlie and the other guy… Bass did a quick scan of the area... The Bounty Hunter's wagon was nearby between and would give him cover – it would be useful for him and Charlie too once they sorted this mess out… Two strong looking bay horses were tethered on the grass a little further away munching away… Then he suddenly spotted the other guy, just outside the doorway of the ablutions block, he looked like he was waiting outside for something – or someone… Bass grinned…so Charlie must have got him to wait outside for her… good girl… He couldn't see any other people around; the two men obviously didn't want to share the bounty on his head with anyone else…

There was too much open ground for the direct approach…if he went for Beard first, the other guy would see or hear – and that would leave Charlie vulnerable and him probably shot… he had to get her to distract the other guy long enough for him to get rid of the beard… so Bass crept around the back of the wagon…silently heading round to the rear of the toilet block…Beard hadn't moved and the other guy had his attention totally on what was going on inside… and Bass reached the back of the building without any trouble… There was a ledge around the high windows and he was very glad he'd he was as fit as he was because it was a jump and then a chin up and tired as he was he hoped he could get a message across to her quickly... He made the leap up to the closest window – glass long gone thankfully – although the edges of the frame were still hard damn it…and lifted himself up, muscles straining… damn it again…and looked inside…

He nearly fell back down…Charlie was standing, naked, with her back to him, her long, dark blond hair waving to her waist, one long slim leg up on the wooden bench in front of her washing it down with what looked like soap… Bass determinedly tore his eyes away… and looked for the other guy… no sign of him… so either Charlie was just that good, in which case he could probably leave her to it, well no he wouldn't… or he was being incredibly and unbelievably obedient…or he was gay… Beard guy must be the prime mover then so he was going with gay… He looked back at Charlie…trying to think of a quiet way to get her attention, willing her to turn around, then he nearly fell down again when she suddenly did…meeting his gaze with a huge grin and a look in her blue eyes that he would never forget… Then she lost the grin, which morphed into a scowl… and she lifted her hands in a 'where were you?' gesture… He was so aggrieved, even though the gesture made her breasts bounce really fetchingly, that he lifted himself that little bit more so that his forearms were resting along the window ledge… and did she even know how hard that was…?

He looked pointedly to where other guy must be standing then back to her…then back to the other guy… trying to get her to understand that he needed her to get him inside and distract him… she put her hands on her hips… fuck, she was gorgeous… Then she nodded… turned to the bench and bent over to pick up a little dress… He admired the curves of her ass as she bent… because that was one beautiful ass and she was showing it off… She turned back to him, slowly, and gave him a wicked smile… stepping into the dress one foot at a time and slowly pulling it up over her hips, shimmying into it…her hips and breasts moving in counterpoint… keeping her beautiful blues glued to his all the way…. His dick was trying to drill a hole into the wall and his arms were burning like twin welding rods by the time she had the dress almost on…but he wouldn't have moved to save his life… It was the only time in his life that he could remember getting turned on by watching a woman getting into her clothes instead of out of them… but then maybe it was because it was this woman...

She blew a kiss at him then gave him a 'go away' flick of the wrist…turning slightly to show him the buttons at the back – the dress gaping open… He gave her a quick smirk and a hasty salute and dropped down; rubbing his arms to get the feeling back then creeping round the side of the building… He was just in time to see gay guy vanish inside… ok… Charlie had given him time to beard the Beard…

….

Charlie had decided she might as well go ahead and have a wash; it kept Adam happy and quiet which meant that he could keep Gregor happy and quiet and thinking that he was going to have a piece of her nice clean self… She had the feeling that Adam must be gay or he really didn't like doing this – because he hadn't tried to peek once…apart from once when he was making sure that she was cooperating with the washing thing… He occasionally sang out to her – making sure she was still there, although where he thought she was going to go was a mystery… but otherwise had left her alone…and she wasn't complaining... So she had one leg up on the bench, soaping it down when she felt Monroe's eyes on her; she knew it was him because her heart started pounding so hard that she had to take a moment to settle herself down and her insides turned to mush again… He had come for her… He hadn't left her… She didn't know why it meant so much but it did…She turned around and looked up – and there he was… she felt one of the biggest grins of her life spread across her face, she was so glad to see him… then she realised how long he'd taken…bastard…she wouldn't be surprised if he'd planned it so he'd catch her naked…

…..

Bass moved quietly up behind Beard… it was almost too easy; maybe the guy was deaf or simply too focused on his magazine to pay attention – he was close enough to see that it was one of the girly ones – Penthouse or Playboy? He felt a brief burst of nostalgia for simpler times… It was obviously well loved – all the corners were a little worn… Beard was trying really hard to get his equipment into working order and Bass normally wouldn't interrupt a man when he was busy with that…but he was planning to use it on Charlotte and that was just not happening … Bass took out his length of rope and whipped it round Beard's neck…twisting him back and holding the squirming man until he went still and limp… then he let the body fall back onto the seat… On the table, beside the magazine was an untidy stack of papers, partly scattered when Beard had been flailing around... He suddenly realised they were Wanted posters... some with his name on them in large unfriendly letters, but there were some with…

'You killed him…' an agonised cry came from gay guy who was running towards him… 'You killed him…' Charlie right behind him, a knife in her hand… still in that little black dress… Bass picked up the gun from the table and hit him across the head with the butt, dropping him in his tracks… Charlie looked down at Beard…a little non-smile on her face... 'His name was Gregor…' she shrugged 'and he wasn't a nice man…' she turned to the unconscious Adam… 'He's Adam and he tried to be nice…' Bass took his rope back and tied Adam's hands behind his back… 'Then he can stay alive for a bit longer…. There're a few things I want to ask him…' he tipped his eyes to the table 'Have a look…'

Charlie went over to the table, avoiding touching the dead man…and his magazine… 'Wanted posters – for you Monroe…' she smirked 'Well we knew about those…' Bass smirked back… 'Have another look Charlie…' She suddenly went very still…holding one of the posters in her hand… The name on it was Rachael Matheson…. Charlie turned to Monroe 'What do they want with my Mom?' 'I don't know Charlie, but we can ask Adam all about it when he wakes up…' he finished securing Adam's bonds, stood up and reached over for one of the posters… 'Look at that…' he showed her a symbol at the bottom of the page, the same symbol was on all the posters … a series of circles with a triangle superimposed, a dot in the centre… 'Randall had a ring with that symbol on it…' His eyes had an intense gleam 'Charlie, if these guys are anything like as bad as Randall, we are all in a whole lot of trouble…'

Charlie looked at the poster, then the symbol, then down at Adam… 'How long do you think till he wakes up so we can find out what he knows…?' Bass looked down and shrugged… 'Half an hour maybe…' she slanted her eyes at him…that wicked look in them again… 'Maybe you should gag him too…' she turned and started to walk back to the ablutions block, looking back at him over her shoulder 'Then you can come and help me undo these buttons…' he grinned…'I'll be right there…'

Charlie walked back to the block, she had to get her clothes – and then find out what the two jerks had done with her belt and her weapons… but in the meantime… and here he was…. She turned just in time for Monroe to lift her off her feet…she happily wrapped her legs around his hips, her arms around is neck…his hands snaking around her waist, and she could feel him already hard and ready against her… Monroe laughed as he kissed her and it vibrated through her lips…he slid his hands down along her thighs to the hem of the tiny dress, pulling it up to her waist, drawing a sharp breath in when he found her bare under it… His fingers smoothed over then gripped her ass cheeks… 'I love your ass...' he whispered against her mouth… 'I loved watching you bend over to pick up this silly little dress…' he swung her round so that her back was against the wall 'Maybe we can take it with us so you can do it again…' now that was a tempting thought… it had been an incredible feeling doing her little show for him as he watched through the window, except, and this was a biggie…she still wasn't sure that she could, or would, take him to Willoughby…

'Monroe…' his eyes met hers and they were like pieces of the sky… she smiled…'Your eyes are so blue…' he laughed again…'so I've been told…' Then he ran a hand down between them…under her, his fingers sliding past and through her wet curls, brushing her clit on the way, she closed her eyes and moaned, she was so turned on by seeing him at the window, knowing that he'd come to get her… then by showing off for him… and by the excitement of their victory that she was close to exploding already… and she could feel that he was too... He undid his jeans and lifted her up higher against the wall, quickly getting himself in position then thrusting home…and he filled her, pulled out and filled her again and kept filling her, her back thumping on the wall, her knees gripping his waist and her arms clinging to shoulders, neck, chest and anything she could hold on to as she flew apart, feeling him groan against her then pull out at the last moment…resting his head against hers, sliding them both down the wall to the bench…

They stayed like that for a little while… just savouring the moment…then 'We've got a wagon and horses, we've got supplies…' Monroe said grinning… 'And we've got weapons…' Charlie broke in… 'And we've got Adam…' she leaned forward… 'Undo these buttons for me?'

…...

AN: hope you liked this, I was having a chat with LoveForTheStory about the bounty hunters – and she thought it might be interesting to explore what might have happened if they had been a little less 'nice' we also remembered the magazine that the older BH was looking at and that sort of set the scene for what happened… so thanks Love, I had a lot of fun writing this… and hope you like how it turned out…

They are off towards Pottsboro next… things are a little different now... but how much? Then I think that might be it for this one...

Hope to see you at the next chapter, all the best, Magpie


	4. Chapter 4

**Ride, ride my see saw…**

A Revolution fic: Charloe, Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Mention of characters from the show including, Ely Gould, the Bookie, Miles, Rachael and Danny Matheson, Aaron Pittman, the Patriots, Tom and Jason Neville, Will Strausser, the Bounty Hunters (Adam)… The story is based on a prompt from the Good Ship Charloe writer's page – where Bass sees Charlie with the Bookie in Gould's fight tent in New Vegas and knows she's the one asking for him…

Rating M

**Author's note: **

Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this… and for some lovely reviews, follows and favourites… Please leave a comment if you have a moment, I love reading them… this story wouldn't let me go so I hope you enjoy this bit…

I don't own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters. There are some lines adapted from the relevant episodes of the show (some in different order and context though…). BTW the start of this is of course the end of the last chapter – only from Bass' POV – there were some extra's that I needed to add to it… and it was fun telling it again anyway…

**Ride, ride my see-saw**… Part 4.

It was how he felt after winning a hard fight, or after a battle; his body's reaction to the stress and then the relief… a combination of exhilaration and adrenaline pounding round his system that needed somewhere to go and so, after Charlie so nicely invited him to help undo her buttons… Bass quickly threw a gag together, shoved it in Adam's mouth, tied it off around the jerk's head – taking a moment to make sure that he was still breathing, did a quick visual check round the area, seeing nothing and no one; then scooting over to make sure that the Beard was still dead, yep… all of which took him less than a minute… he grinned... strike one up for practice and experience – and two for motivation… Then he followed Charlie (well he ran…Monroe be honest…) to that old shower block - experiencing a weird little tug on his memory when he saw the 'ladies' symbol – still there - stencilled on the outside of the airlock entrance… But then forgetting everything else when he got inside and saw Charlie in that tiny black dress, barefoot…her back to him, then when she heard him coming and she started to turn towards him, her strong, shapely legs gracefully twisting, one arm raised and her hair swinging… he had a flashback to her little burlesque show of putting the dress on for him that sent a surge southwards…and now she wanted him to help her take it off…

He was so turned on that his dick felt like it could run over to her on its own… She was facing him just as he got to her and he put his hands either side of her slim waist, hoisting her up… He needed to get inside her right fucking now and by the look on her face she was just as desperate… She jumped to meet him wrapping those gorgeous legs around his waist, her arms fitting around his neck like they belonged there… He found himself laughing triumphantly against her lips as he kissed her, she felt so damn good… He slid his hands down along her thighs to the hem of the tiny dress, pulling it up to her waist, drawing a sharp breath in when he found her bare under it, God, she'd been running around in this little dress and nothing else… He felt himself get even harder…. He ran his fingers over the smooth skin and ripe curves and gripped her ass cheeks, pulling her closer to his impatient cock… 'I love your ass...' he whispered against her mouth… 'I loved watching you bend over to pick up this silly little dress…' he swung her round so that her back was against the wall, she held on to him tighter… 'Maybe we can take it with us so you can do it again…' she panted out his name and met his eyes… and he saw his relief at having somehow won - yet again… and his elation at still being so fucking alive (and that she hadn't said no to the 'us'…) reflected right back to him…'Your eyes are so blue' she said, wriggling her beautiful self against him… he laughed again…'so I've been told…' He ran his hand down the front of her, his fingers brushing against her pussy and clit on the way down… He could tell she was as close as he was by the way she moaned as his hand went down, his eyes followed the hand and there she was – legs spread wide around him and her beautiful pussy spread open against his wrist…

He frantically searched for and found the buttons of his pants – loving the feel of her soft, wet warmth rubbing against the flesh of his arm at the same time… feeling just how ready she was for him – then he was undoing the buttons, finally letting his desperate dick out of jail, then juggling her up further against the wall so he could reach into her, guiding himself home – yanking his hand out to be useful holding her up so he could stay in her without them both falling over… although her hands were everywhere too, on his shoulders, clinging to his arms, then around his neck doing the same thing, so between them they somehow managed to find their balance against the wall…. And then it was a fast and furious fuck that had both of them gasping in a timeless stretch of not being dead but so wonderfully still… able… to… do… this… He remembered only just in time that he needed to pull out…just before everything went sun storm and incandescent… then he slid them both down the wall onto the bench… and as he sat there holding her close, getting his breath and his vision back, feeling her panting and warm and delicious in his arms, her legs draped over him… her head pillowed on his shoulder… he thought that it had possibly been the most intense fuck of his life…

They stayed like that for a little while… just savouring the moment…then 'We've got a wagon and horses, we've got supplies…' he said grinning… 'And we've got weapons…' Charlie broke in… 'And we've got Adam…' she sat up a on his lap and leaned to the side… 'Undo these buttons for me?' he had a look at her back… whoa… Whoever made the dress had obviously gotten hold of a shit load of tiny buttons and had decided to use them all on this one dress… No wonder he'd had time to take care of the beard if Adam had had to do these up… She play glared up at him…'Anytime now would be good Monroe…' He put his tile lacerated fingers to the task…good job the dress was black…

….

What seemed like a few short moments after he had disposed of the damn buttons – somehow without ripping any of them off - and fixed his own pants up, Charlotte Matheson had collected her real clothes and was all dressed up as herself again. As he watched her doing up her jeans Bass was slightly regretful at the loss of nearly naked Charlie, but he had to admit that this Charlie, in her tank top and tight jeans, unarmed (presumably) but still dangerous and wonderfully unpredictable, pushed every single one of his buttons… She was the most exciting thing to happen to him in quite a while… and he grinned at the thought, deciding not to dwell at the moment on what could happen in the future (Miles and Rachael would definitely not approve…so just enjoy the now Monroe)… But she was ready for business and they needed to get going… they were far too damn close to New Vegas for his liking… He didn't know if the bounty hunters - or the Bookie (now there was a play for another day, the little guy owed him big time) had told anyone that they had Sebastian Monroe in storage… although somehow he didn't think so, there would be a whole lot more activity around if they had… he really didn't think the Patriots would want to pay if they could take the prize themselves, which was probably why the BH's had left town so fast once they had him…

Charlie did up the last button on her jeans and gave him a long look… 'Hey… Monroe… Thanks for not leaving…' she chewed at her lip…'I… I said some pretty awful things to you back there in the pool… I…wouldn't have blamed you if you'd just kept on going…' Bass frowned… that actually hurt more than what she had said…that she thought he could just leave her…

'Charlotte…' he shook his head… 'There is no way I'd have left any woman with those creeps if I knew she didn't want to be there and that she couldn't get out on her own – and absolutely no way I'd leave you…' her gaze dropped then lifted to meet his again…then, 'Even after I tried to kill you – like, a lot…?' he shrugged… 'Can't say that I blame you for that…I might have tried to kill me too if I were you…but as me and my sorry ass are still alive at least I can do something useful with them…' He walked over to her… and if he checked her over for anything looking like a throwing star before he got too close, who could really blame him… He chuckled… 'And having said that…do I need to search you again…?' Her wicked grin blazed up at him… damn he kept forgetting how small she was… because somehow she never seemed small… Then she reached into one of the pockets in her jeans…pulling out a length of garrotte wire… and if she had one he had absolutely no doubt there were at least a couple more hidden in other places…

He nodded approvingly…'The old garrotte wire in the seam trick… did Miles teach you that one…?' her grin got even wider…'That and a few others…'the grin turned into a full on come fuck me smile…'you could search me properly later if you want…' she said, the smile and her voice promising so much that his dick came back to immediate and hopeful attention… he licked his lips and narrowed his eyes, looking her up and down… 'Oh yeah… but it'll have to be a very, very thorough search, Charlotte…a woman like you… You could be hiding lots of things…in all sorts of places…' He leaned forward towards her…making sure he found and held the hand with the wire in it first… 'So believe me, I'll be looking absolutely everywhere…' he whispered against her lips… Her breath hitched and she reached up with her free hand to pull his head down closer to her… lifting a leg and hooking it around his, so that her hot crotch was pressed up against him…'You'll need to look really, really hard… Monroe… I've got all sorts of tricks up my…sleeve…' she whispered back… her eyes dancing…then she kissed him until they were both breathless… and when they eventually came up for air he pulled back, laughing in honest appreciation… 'You are a woman after my own heart Charlie…' he let go…sighing with regret….'we'd better get going….' 'We should go while there's light… they said almost in unison… it was uncanny really, how much they seemed to think alike sometimes…

He put her down and she nodded 'Lets go…' grabbing one of the half empty buckets, the towel and the soap, then she picked up the dress and rolled it up, putting it with the towel...throwing him another one of her wicked grins… he sent an echo right back… The little black dress was now hers (and maybe theirs?), not her would-be rapists… Bass picked up the other bucket; the water remaining in it sloshing around… he had a really good use for that…

….

As they walked over to where Adam was lying trussed up like a rabbit ready for roasting… Charlie felt much more like herself, she was back in her own clothes and she was able to put just a little distance between herself and what had nearly happened with Gregor the bearded, one eyed bounty hunter (she'd forgotten about the eye patch till just then… funny what the mind remembered and what it left out…), instead she was thinking about what had happened between her and Monroe… which had been easily the most exciting sex she had ever had… She was still buzzing, her centre wet and hot, her breasts tingling, her lips still feeling his… and she remembered how it had felt, back in that tatty old toilet block, waiting for him…knowing that he was coming and knowing what she wanted him to do with her; it was a feeling she wouldn't forget easily… and yet another aftershock ran from her clit to her belly button then up to her nipples… making her pulse race and another flood of arousal soak her jeans… She couldn't wait until they could do it again… and the idea of him searching her for hidden weapons… well that nearly made her come just thinking about it…

Being with Sebastian Monroe was like nothing she had ever experienced before…he made her feel like she had fire in her veins, everything was so much more vivid… it was both exhilarating and a bit terrifying… From first seeing him in the fight tent, like a mythical creature…something from one of Aaron's stories, then when he had her helpless on the ground outside the tent – and then in his trailer; and even after she tried to kill him (twice or was it three times?) he had been so different than she'd expected, playing the game but never trying to hurt her back, even telling her to go back to her family…and at the same time he was so damn fucking hot and so absolutely male… Then when they were both tied up in the pool she had seen some of the despair and sadness in him – somehow she hadn't expected to see that…and hadn't expected her need to drag him out of it by deliberately making him angry - with her… or that after all that… he would stay and help her, when he could have just gone…

Her mission, the only thing she had thought about for weeks, after Jeff told her where he had seen Monroe, had been to find him and kill him… But now, it was different…somehow him being dead would be like taking something vital from her world, from her… But she had to work out what to do with him… he wanted them to travel together and damn it she wanted that more than she'd wanted anything for such a long time… But she had to warn her Mom and that meant going to Willoughby…

She looked sideways at the man walking beside her – they were both bruised and battered, both sore, but also were both walking with the confidence of those who'd fought together and won… who had found some sort of common purpose? She wondered where the need to kill him had gone… subsumed maybe into this intense physical attraction and an almost irresistible need to have him again… and she liked him damn it…He was fun and sexy and strong, strong like her… he kept fighting, and he hadn't left her… Why couldn't he and she just travel together… somewhere, anywhere, so long as it wasn't Willoughby. She supposed she had to warn her family about her Mom's name on the posters… but there had to be another way… surely the rumours of the Patriots had reached them by now? Damn, damn, damn… taking Monroe to Willoughby meant taking him to Miles – who had tried to kill him in Philadelphia and who still might try it again and to her Mom, who had also tried to kill him according to Aaron - before the gates of the Tower… Her mom had taken a hand grenade down to Monroe's tent and would have killed him and herself as well… She didn't know how Aaron felt now, but the last he knew about it, Monroe had been the enemy…

…..

Adam was still unconscious and lying right near the edge of the pool, where Bass had put him… Charlie tossed the remains of the water in one of the buckets over his head…and Bass poured the contents of the second bucket over the rest of him moments later… he jerked and gargled…gulping air around the gag, opened his eyes, blinking to get rid of the water and struggled briefly, then lay very still once he realised how close he was to the edge of the pool… Eyes wide and shocked, he looked from one of them to the other quickly, then again more slowly, Charlie could see realisation dawning in his eyes and her lips curved… 'Hi Adam…' she drawled… 'How are you feeling…?' he looked away from her then up at Bass…'mmffe…' Bass reached down and undid the gag – leaving the ropes where they were for the time being… Adam spat out a mouthful of accumulated bad tasting crap… 'You two seem to be getting on better than I expected…?' his voice was hoarse… he looked up at Charlie… 'What happened to all the stuff about just 'put a bullet in his head'...' Charlie shrugged… 'I changed my mind, he's much prettier than Gregor - or you… I didn't want to spoil his good looks…' Adam turned his gaze to Bass 'I'd heard about you and women, Monroe…but man…that's fast…' Bass smirked down at him and shrugged…'Can't blame a man for being irresistible…' then he lifted the gun he'd retrieved from where he'd hid it…pointing it right at Adam's head…

Charlie rolled her eyes at him, went over to the table and picked up the pile of Wanted posters…holding where the bound man could see them… 'What are you doing with all these?' Adam shrugged, as well as he could, tied up and horizontal…'they're bounties, we…I hunt them… It's sort of all in the job title…' Charlie took out the one with her Mom's name on it… 'What do your employers want with this one…?' he looked and shrugged again, 'What's so special about that one…?' Monroe chipped in 'Answer the question…' the business end of the gun moved a bit closer… and Adam's face got a little paler and he watched the end of the shotgun like it was a snake… 'All I know is…these US guys came up from Cuba and they pay well – six ounces of diamonds per head…' his voice became stronger at the mention of the diamonds… 'There're probably fifty other bounty hunters with the same posters…' he lay back down again…'that's all I know…'

Monroe cocked the gun and aimed…Charlie grabbed the end of the barrel, turning it away…'We're not going to kill him…' Monroe raised his eyebrows…. 'Excuse me…?' She looked him in the eye… not backing down, 'I don't like killing…' she glanced down at Adam…' not unless I have to… 'She turned back to Monroe who had a slightly bemused look on his face… He didn't quite know how it had happened but she had somehow taken charge of the situation, and shit, here he was taking orders from a slip of a girl after running a republic - although granted that hadn't worked out so well and this wasn't just any girl…so… 'We'll gag him again, get the wagon ready and dump him further down the road somewhere…' Charlie continued… Adam did the eye roll this time and Monroe looked down at him with a very small shrug, receiving back a slightly unnerving look of male commiseration… he took a long breath… 'I guess I'll go and get the horses and the wagon organised then… unless there's something else you don't want me to do first…?' she lifted an eyebrow… gave him a sweet smile and walked the couple of steps past him to put the gag back on Adam, bumping into Monroe – hard - with her shoulder as she did… and damn it Adam the prick had the nerve to wink at him…

Not shooting Adam did mean that he'd have to wait to talk to Charlie about going with her to warn Miles and her Mom, because he didn't want fucking still alive Adam to hear anything about that… so… he put the gun down like a good little ex-dictator, and went to retrieve the horses…

…..

The horses were hitched up, they had found Charlie's chain belt, bag and weapons and Bass' swords and knives in the back of the wagon… Bass would have liked the chance to collect the rest of his things from his trailer but it was way too risky to go back there now… Bookie had obviously known what was going to happen, and he didn't know if he'd brought Gould in on it too or if the little man had acted off his own greedy bat… Anyway, they were ready to go… Adam had been levered in the back of the wagon – still trussed up… Charlie had considered (briefly) letting him have a piss first but then changed her mind, although she did tell him she might come back to let him out later… the look on his face… that little bit of revenge had been sort of fun and she smiled as she climbed up beside Monroe… who had decided he was driving, not that she minded, her shoulder was still sore as hell and her assorted other bumps and bruises were making themselves felt again too now that the adrenalin had worn off… she shrugged and reached into her bag for her jerky – absently handing a piece over to Monroe…who just as absently took it and started chewing...

They'd been travelling for a few miles when they came to a fork in the road – another intersection was visible up ahead on both and Adam would definitely have trouble working out where they'd gone with the road as hard as it was and not showing many tracks… well … he would when he woke up of course…Monroe was about to give the guy another wack with the butt of the rifle when the bounty hunter spoke up again… 'You know they won't stop coming don't you…?' he looked from one to the other…'It doesn't matter that you stopped us…' Charlie frowned… Monroe had had enough… he really would have preferred to shoot the guy but when he looked at Charlie she still shook her head, damn it… He sighed and looked - sort of sympathetically - down at the man in the dirt, who obviously knew what was coming… Monroe made it quick, hard and effective, Adam'd have one hell of a headache when he woke up and probably wouldn't be able to walk straight for a while - but he would still be alive…thanks to Charlie, hell Bass even untied his hands…

Then he stood up and turned to Charlie…'He's right…' she turned an unreadable look on him…'about what…?' Bass jerked his head back towards Vegas… 'They won't stop coming… and you know you have to warn your Mom…' he leaned down so he could look straight into her eyes…'and If I know Miles he's with Rachael…?' she gave him a small nod… 'So, I'm coming with you…' Her head shot up…'Excuse me…? No you're not…' Bass got a little closer…'Charlie, like I said before… if these Patriots are half as bad as Randall, we're all in trouble and you and your family are going to need my help…' Charlie just stood there… 'But what if they don't want your help….' He shrugged; well okay, she might have a point… he got closer… his blue eyes mesmerizingly intense…'They might not want it but they're going to need it…' Charlie was so torn… she didn't want to go back but she had to – and if she took Monroe… both Miles and her Mom would probably just want to kill him… again… She was so fucking tired of her family's complicated politics… She wished they'd all just – just grow up… and for a moment she considered just telling Monroe where they were so he could go and they could all sort their stupid selves out without her…

She made up her mind… it was better to leave him here, now, and go and tell her dysfunctional family herself about the fucking dysfunctional Patriots…then maybe somewhere down the road they'd meet up again, and things might be different... So she got right up in his face… staring right into those amazingly gorgeous eyes…hating herself for saying it but having to…'You're delusional again Monroe… Miles and Mom will only want to kill you and it'll all be so…stupid…I'm not taking you there and I'm not going to tell you where they are either…' She turned on her heel and started walking down the road, so rattled that she went forgetting her pack, forgetting her bow…'I'm leaving… and when I'm gone you won't be able to track me…' He shook his head… damn pig headed woman…of course he'd be able to track her…what did she think he was, a boy scout? She kept on walking away and that damn belt was swinging on her hips… and he couldn't think of a way of stopping her without knocking her out like he had Adam… and then she'd probably never talk to him again… Better to let her walk it off… and catch up with her when she was hungry and had had time to come round to his way of thinking… Then she yelled back over her shoulder…'and If you want to stop me you're going to have to shoot me…' and heaven help him for a moment there he was tempted… He suddenly had a wild idea of waking Adam up so he could complain to him… She was being totally ridiculous – So Miles had tried to kill him – once, well maybe twice… but hadn't been able to pull the trigger, even when Bass had offered himself up to him… Rachael on the other hand… well, ok she'd almost certainly have a go, but if he could swing Miles around and get his brother back, Rachael would fall into line…she wouldn't want her darling Miles to be unhappy with her…

…..

Charlie kept walking…and walking… Totally peeved that she hadn't stopped to grab her pack or crossbow… She had her belt knife and her jacket so that was something…and a couple of diamonds left in her little pocket bag that she was glad she hadn't given to the Bookie, the slimy little turd… but she was totally determined not to go back… he could have tried harder to stop her though damn it… so did that mean he didn't really want to? And all this just to save his silly ass from her Mom and Miles (why did he feel so fucking obliged to them anyway?), but then she did owe him for helping to save hers…

She'd doubled back a couple of times, then branched off to a different road and was pretty confident that even the great Sebastian Monroe wouldn't be able to follow her – even if he did want to, but if he did surely he'd have tried a bit harder for a bit longer…? She'd be a liar if she said she didn't miss him already though… she sighed heavily… Who'd have thought she'd get so attached to him in such a short time…he was infuriating but good company…and as for scratching itches… well…he was amazingly good at that but Charlie Monroe would have to scratch her own itches now… Charlie Monroe…? Freudian slip… Get a grip…

Damn it she was getting really hungry – and thirsty, although she'd found a stream back a bit further and had had a drink there, but, given that her water bottle was also on the list of things she'd left behind… it was another case of suck it up Charlie… It was also getting dark, and she'd have to find somewhere to stop for the night sometime soon. There had been a broken signpost back down the road a bit, for a town called Pottsboro…she hadn't been able to read the mile number but she was hoping it wasn't far now…Then suddenly, up ahead she saw an uneven line of lights through the trees…

…..

Bass wasn't far behind her…just out of sight, and definitely out of range of her excellent hearing and even better instincts… He'd seen the signpost too and hidden the wagon…following her on foot for a time, just to make sure he knew where she was headed - some little one horse town (literally, he'd seen the horse….) called Pottsboro… It seemed pretty nondescript, an ordinary little place – one tavern…a few houses, people here and there – a few dogs, and the horse… He guessed she'd go to the tavern for a meal…and maybe a bed for the night, although looking at the place, bed bugs and lice were almost certainly going to be sharing the beds… She'd probably prefer the company of the stars… He had time to go back to the wagon, set up camp and bed the horses down though… then he'd come back and see if she was ready to see reason…

….

Charlie sat at the ratty bar and ate her bowl of stew… It was pretty disgusting, but it was hot and filling and there were things resembling meat and vegetables in it…and, more importantly, she was hungry enough that her boots had started to look tasty… so she was grateful they'd had the stew... The place had looked ok from the outside, although it was seedy and a bit unkempt, but to be truthful, she was feeling a bit nervous now… managing to keep her front looking tough though, wasn't good to look like a victim… There were five biggish, rough looking men sitting round a table, playing some sort of card game… and another two playing pool, but they'd all pretty well ignored her apart from the usual sort of once over people did to newcomers when she first arrived… and the barman had been polite enough, serving her with something resembling whisky although if it were in the same room with a glass of that they wouldn't recognise each other… she'd drunk it anyway…

But now he had come to sit next to her and her alarm bells started to ring… 'I like a woman who can hold her liquor…' he said as she finished the glass… smiling in a sort of slimy way and getting far too close… She got her knife hand ready but still tried to play nice… giving him a sort of half smile and a non committal grunt… 'Have another… on the house…' he pushed another glass her way… she finished the last spoonful of stew and pushed the plate away, taking a casual look around the room…just to check out what was happening… the guys at the table had all put their cards down…so, uh oh… She stood up… 'Thanks but no thanks… There's somewhere I've got to be…' again, she thought she was being polite but he stood too and smirked at her…'Ouch…there's no reason to be so rude about it…' but she was heading for the door… and damn, there was a large, locked padlock on it… Shit... she pulled on the door anyway… it rattled but stayed shut… Charlie looked back at the room and the men at the table were all standing now… 'You should let me go…' she said, knowing that they wouldn't… Shit again… Was there a sign on her head – or on her tits or something? What was it with the men around here...?

'Not just yet…' the barman was creeping up on her and the other six were much closer now, hovering in a semi circle, their eyes intent on her… some smiling, some just looking… no one saying anything, and they made Gregor the creep seem like some sort of silly joke… She pulled her knife out… waiting for one of them to make the first move… then the tall black guy did, rushing at her… knocking her back into the window, she felt it give way, glass smashing outwards – sharp pain in her elbow… then a couple more of them rushed her, the first laying one on the side of her face, she felt her lip split inside, tasting blood… shoving the other guy, she nearly dropped her knife, only just managing to hold on to it… reaching for and grabbing a pool cue from the table in front of her with her other hand and breaking it in half, using it to smash into them… but they broke around her like waves, just moving out of reach then coming back to hit her again…

Barman was staying back, just watching… then another big guy came forward, getting a slash across his shoulder for his trouble… she'd just managed to graze him but then he and the others sort of hung back… surrounding her… She lunged at them, but they simply moved out of her way…their eyes hungry, waiting and circling like wolves round a wounded deer… One of them darted forward and hit her a backhander and she went flying into the corner…slowly sliding down the wall… then everything started to go slow…like she was underwater, sounds were far away and the men's faces came in and out of focus…'What did you give me…?' her voice came out sounding slurry… barman grinned, suddenly right in front of her, his teeth showing in a horrible smile… she flailed out with her knife – somewhere in his direction, the pool cue falling from her suddenly nerveless other hand… She looked up at the bar where her glass and plate were – empty… he came even closer…. 'Looks like you can't hold your liquor after all…' and his hands came reaching…

Charlie felt a sense of hopelessness land on her like a stone… She was fighting to stay conscious let alone fight, although she'd tried… but there were seven of them… and she could feel herself sliding further down the wall onto the floor, unable to keep herself up… So much for keeping her stupid to a minimum… there was no Miles or Maggie, she'd never counted on her Mom anyway, and so, so stupid… she'd left Monroe behind… and he wouldn't look for her again…would he? And how would he know where she was…? She had nobody now…

…

Bass was just stepping out of the woods a short distance away from the building, his boots crunching on the remains of the bitumen at the edge of the old road when he heard the sounds of glass breaking and fighting coming from the tavern… he moved quickly just in case, although surely she couldn't have got herself into trouble again this soon? But yes, of course she fucking had…trouble seemed to follow her around like a pet dog, and hadn't he'd warned her about places like this…? As he got closer he could see the shapes of several men clearly through the broken window, all looking one way – at Charlie, standing with her back to him… then one of them backhanded her, sending her flying… Bass went for the door, finding it locked from the inside… then seeing red didn't cover it… he was seeing blood…

He kicked the door and it went flying open – the padlock swinging off the broken edge of the door… and he just stood there for a moment out of time… his eyes searching for Charlie… There, in the corner, slumped against the wall, some part of him noting that she didn't appear badly injured… she looked totally out of it though… the bastards must have drugged her… The part of him that was a soldier was at the same time cataloguing the positions of the men in the room, calculating his moves… There were seven of them… seven… against one woman… all of them standing there stunned, angry at the intrusion but recovering quickly…

He drew his swords…and he felt his mind and body focus on the job, his eyes empty of anything but that, although they appeared burning blue to Charlie who stared into them, at him, standing there like something out of a dream… But he wasn't a dream… he was here, somehow he'd found her, and he had two swords… She didn't know he used two swords - at the same time…wow…. Then she finally let herself fall all the way to the floor…the wall behind her holding her head and shoulders up so she could still see everything…

His eyes seemed just like any other eyes to the men watching him… The men who were already dead but just didn't know it yet…. Then time seemed to slow down as the first one rushed him, clumsy and off balance… and then he was dead, and Bass moved on to the next and the next…and the three after that… He was aware of Charlie watching him… her eyes blinking and unfocused, but somehow she managed to keep her eyes on him – a sort of wonder in them as he slaughtered all of them for her, for fucking daring to do this to her…daring to think of putting their filthy hands on her…for fucking drugging her…for…. there was another word but he didn't want to even think that one… Then there was only one more of them left… he'd been hiding behind the others as they fell and was staring at Monroe like he was death himself, and he wasn't wrong… Bass shoved him backwards onto the pool table, his machete against the man's throat, holding him down, and with his eyes fixed on Charlie's face, holding her gaze with his…he gave her the man's death as a present and a promise and an apology for nearly being too fucking late… driving his sword straight through the rotten heart and deep into the table underneath…

He stood for a moment… breathing hard…his heart thudding with the almost paralysing terror of nearly having been too late to save her… they'd nearly had her… and the thought made him want to kill them all over again… He took a slow, deep breath, trying to get back into the moment, and himself… He needed to get her out of here fast in case there were others around who'd heard the noise… There'd been a couple of people on the street when he arrived, and he didn't want to have to deal with a crowd of possibly vengeful townsfolk – although by the look of the men he'd just liberated from life, the town would be grateful to him for liberating them from their vermin…but he needed to get Charlie away from here now, and get her sober… He wiped his swords on dead guy's shirt and slid them back in their sheaths with the smooth ease of long, long practise…

Charlie gazed at his face as he came closer… it was the strangest feeling… he got bigger and closer but the only thing she could see clearly were his eyes…she blinked and it must have taken a long time because then he was there and he was picking her up… Her head fell back against his shoulder like it was meant to be there…she tried to put her arms up around his neck to help but they wouldn't do what she told them… she felt the muscles in his arms flexing as he took her weight, shuffling her a little to get her settled against him... 'Good thing I'm little and… skinny…. Monroe…' shit her voice sounded weird… she felt a rumble in his chest…. He laughed down at her and she watched the laugh come out of his lovely lips, over his curly beard… she followed it with her eyes and smiled back, it was a wonderfully sexy laugh… Wow… she wondered what drugs they'd given her…

Then his chest was rising and falling, rising and falling against her cheek… It was very nice, like being in a hammock… and then, the ceiling was moving…and suddenly it was stars…. She lifted her hand 'Look, Monroe…stars…' she felt a drop of water on her face… 'And it's raining…' she frowned and looked up because there were no clouds so how could it be… but it wasn't raining…it was him…but it couldn't be… 'Monroe…why are you…?' His arms tightened around her but he kept on walking…'Charlotte…' his voice was so…angry? Sad? Angry…? She couldn't work it out…too complicated… He took in a deep breath, she knew that because she could feel his chest suck it in, then he let it out and she felt that too…. 'Charlie… Why did you…? They would have… fuck, Charlie, I was only just in time…' She made a huge, huge effort and reached up to pat his cheek…she could feel her mouth stretching into a wide grin…'It's ok…You saved me Monroe… and you've got two swords…' she looked confused…'I think… But how did you find me…?' everything was getting very hazy… and then he put her down on something soft, it felt like a blanket… and sat down next to her… 'Charlie…' he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips… 'You're not as hard to track as you think… now go to sleep…I'll keep watch… we can argue again when you wake up…' she felt so warm and floaty… 'What were we arguing about, Bass?'

Monroe sat and watched through the night as she slept… she'd called him Bass…

…

AN: there's a bit more to this story but I thought I'd stop here for now as the word count was getting bigger and bigger…. Hope you enjoyed it, please leave a comment if you have a minute, I really love reading them – and like others have said, comments inspire us to write more and try harder :D All the best, Magpie

The last couple of days had been non-stop emotional and physical ups and downs, something like she imagined flying would be – in a plane like the one Aaron had said he owned once (she remembered the time when they were going to Philly with Maggie and had foolishly gone into that derelict plane only to be attacked by some other creeps…dear, clever Maggie… she had saved them that time…).

that he is good at killing but much better with her uncle

Finish when she wakes up… what makes you think you've got a choice – 'do you hate me that much?', 'no…its them… I don't know how I feel about them… what if they don't want your help, what if they just want to kill you? Love scene… searching her…


	5. Chapter 5

**Ride, ride my see saw…**

A Revolution fic: Charloe, Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Mention of characters from the show including, Ely Gould, the Bookie, Miles, Rachael and Danny Matheson, Aaron Pittman, the Patriots, Tom and Jason Neville, Will Strausser, the Bounty Hunters (Adam)… The story is based on a prompt from the Good Ship Charloe writer's page – where Bass sees Charlie with the Bookie in Gould's fight tent in New Vegas and knows she's the one asking for him…

Rating M

**Author's note: **

Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this… and for some lovely reviews, follows and favourites… Please leave a comment if you have a moment, I love reading them… I so enjoyed writing this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long – I was away for a couple of days…then a lot of other stuff happened and it seemed to take ages before I had time to write…

I don't own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters. There are some lines adapted from the relevant episodes of the show (some in different order and context though…)

**Ride, ride my see-saw**… Part 5.

Charlie woke up, blinking, to the sound of rain…falling on trees & leaves and grass and on to some sort of canopy above – exposed beams…tin roof…? Little runnels of water falling in lines to the ground from the raggedy edges a little bit beyond her…it was dark and she could see some stars off in the distance past the edges of cloud and the steady fall of rain… There was the crackle and warm flickering light of a fire close by and the smell of something cooking… She looked across the fire and there he was… Monroe… She struggled to sit up…'Take it easy Charlotte…' he tossed her a water bottle…. it landed just in front of her hand… 'Drink… you need to flush the drugs out of your system…' she tried to sit up again but her body felt like one of the horses had rolled on it…oh God and her head…'Take it easy and have a drink Charlie…it'll help….' She closed her eyes but that definitely didn't help so she opened them a crack again…the world was spinning and going up and down at the same time…. 'How long was I out…?' she didn't recognise her voice…it was so shaky … He poked at the fire…'most of last night and all of today… I waited till just before dawn then drove us as far away as I could get just in case those creeps had any friends…' he poked the fire again…'and don't worry, I was a perfect gentleman the whole time…' he flashed her a look she didn't know how to interpret…a sort of sympathy?

She finally managed to get herself into a sort of cross-legged semi upright position…although her head was pounding… She located the water bottle and lifted it to her mouth, managing not to miss…the water was cold and, oh… that was good…. She licked her lips…and put the bottle down, looking over the fire at Monroe… trying to focus… He looked really tired and in the firelight his eyes seemed hollow and haunted…. 'You found me…' there was such a lot more but that was all she could get out… Monroe poked at the fire…'you're not the only one who knows how to follow tracks Charlie … I was behind you pretty well all the way…' he reached for a pan of something (beans?) from over the coals and used his knife to take a little of whatever it was out to have a taste… then he shrugged and sent a slightly exasperated look her way… 'You lost me for a little while when you doubled back on that other road...but I picked up your trail again once I found the sign for Pottsboro…' Charlie actually felt a bit embarrassed… 'Oh…' she had a flash of memory - a room full of horrible men with hungry eyes and grasping hands… circling around her…then Monroe crashing through the doors and just…killing them all…

'I wasn't really trying that hard to hide…' she looked over at him, her eyes challenging him… 'Are you saying that you wanted me to find you Charlie…?' he put the pan back on the coals with a clatter of sparks… 'So why the fuck didn't you turn back and make it easier for me rather than going into that place…?' She tipped her head forward; carefully…it all seemed so stupid now… 'I was pretty sure you'd try to find me…' she studied her feet… 'I… I hadn't told you where Miles is, and I know you want me to do that…but I wasn't sure… and I was hungry…and pissed off… I was going to turn around and find you in the morning…' she faded off, shit, she was sounding lamer by the second…

He sighed heavily…'so you nearly got yourself gang-raped and murdered just because you were hungry and pissed off at me…' She fired up at that …'There was no way I could have known those guys were going to be like that…' then suddenly he was in front of her… his face close to hers and his eyes furious… 'Charlie, I told you that this was bad country and you go into a strange bar, full of men you don't know… on your own and with no weapons… you weren't fucking thinking…again…' he took a deep breath then let it out between his teeth…his face set into harsh lines…'I was nearly too late Charlie, a few more minutes and they'd have been on you…' he sat back…'and after that I had to sit through the night and just watch you breathe in case they'd given you too much of whatever crap it was they doped you with…as well as waiting for their friends to come searching for whoever killed their buddies…' Charlie remembered him carrying her away from that bar and something like rain falling on her face…but it wasn't all her fault, was it…?

'Why are you being like this Monroe…?' she was suddenly angry herself now… he'd saved her life but now he was angry with her…? 'You just want me to take you to Miles and my mom … so you can show them that you're all good now and you want to help them fight the big bad Patriots…' her eyes were narrowed with her own anger and hurt… 'You say what you want to get what you want… you're a psychopath, and a killer…' he'd dropped his knife on the ground, she suddenly saw it and found herself moving for it…but his boot got there first and then he was right up close to her again… his eyes a brilliant and piercing blue – stabbing into her like knives… 'You're right about one thing Charlie… I am very good at killing; I think you noticed that even if you were fucking drugged to the eyeballs…'

Her eyes flickered and she looked away, chewing her lip and fighting back stupid, stupid tears…he pulled her head back by the chin with hard fingers so that she had to look at him…'But I'm even better when I'm with your Uncle…' he got even closer…'these Patriot guys… they're going to be really bad… I can feel it… the only way we're going to have a chance at fighting them, at surviving whatever they've got planned is if we all work together…' Charlie stared at him, still angry – still hurting… He still hadn't said that he'd wanted to find her, Charlie, and not just because she could take him to her folks, not really… 'What if I tell you to go to hell, Monroe…' he smiled grimly and pressed a hard kiss on her lips… 'What makes you think you've got a choice…

Bass pulled himself back and rubbed his hand over his face… careful not to block his view of her… He was really tired, it was getting hard to think clearly, and as well as that he knew that a lot of his anger was with himself and he was taking it out on her… He'd known where she was and he hadn't checked out the tavern to make sure she'd be safe… He'd just gone and set up camp and left her there… and if those men had finished what they started it would have been his fault… And he couldn't and wouldn't let it happen again… She'd so quickly become part of his life, and was part of his family – even if she didn't think so - yet; she was his responsibility… He…cared about her…he…. didn't know how to say it, didn't think he could say it yet…especially to her… He'd just have to work out how to get her to work with him, maybe trust him… or if he couldn't do that, keep her from running away again…but first, he needed to get some sleep…

…

A little later Charlie lay trying to relax although she was still pissed at him and he still hadn't said anything about how he felt about her, that maybe he wanted her for herself… not just because she could take him to Miles and her Mom… She lifted her left wrist, looking at the handcuff there, cushioned over a piece of leather to stop her slipping it off… Stupid bounty hunters… He'd found the cuffs in their wagon – there was even a key… although unfortunately said key was in Monroe's jeans pocket on a chain attached to his sword belt…and that was on the side of Monroe furthest away from her… The other ring of the handcuff was currently locked around Monroe's right wrist…which meant that unless she was able to get the key – or she chewed through her own wrist… she wasn't going anywhere without him... Not that she had any intention of leaving him again - for the time being anyway... Her confidence had suffered a serious blow back in that bar… She couldn't ever remember feeling so… helpless, so completely lost… There was absolutely nothing she could have done to help herself once she went in there and took that first fucking drink…

He'd tied her other wrist to the back axle of the wagon, her ankles were also tied comfortably but tightly together and the rope around them was looped up around the rope holding her right wrist… She could move her legs to the sides or lie straight to get sort of comfortable but couldn't do much else… He'd said he was too tired to search her properly and didn't trust her with even one hand – or her feet, free… She felt a wry grin curve her lips…he was right about that… but she'd let him do it without trying to stop him or complaining - much… and she hadn't tried too hard to get loose… She thought he deserved a bit of a break…

Charlie knew just how lucky she was to be alive – and how very close she had come to something she'd really rather not think about... she shuffled her legs to the side… and none of her hidden assets had done her the slightest bit of good, there – or with the bounty hunters… Maybe it was time to rethink things… maybe there was a way for she and Monroe to work it out…maybe they could go to Willoughby and he could just meet up with Miles first, then they could work something out about dealing with her mom…

He'd tied her up, clipped on the cuffs, and then told her to keep watch – although what use she'd possibly be all tied up – and handcuffed to him - she had no idea… Then he had lain down and… just… gone to sleep…

She glanced at Monroe, his eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling regularly, he looked peaceful and - younger - asleep… The light from the remains of the fire - a little way away on his side - flickered over his face, outlining his sweat darkened curly hair, his moustache and beard and the line of his profile in golden light and purple shadow… the moon above adding little shards of silver to everything… The wound on his right cheek from the pool was still visible, like small, dark hollows under the line of his cheekbone… His shoulders were broad and relaxed in sleep, and she could see the outline of his strong neck and chest under his shirt… His long legs stretched down what seemed like a very long way past hers… his feet still in his boots (he'd left hers on too…). His head was pillowed on his old leather jacket and he was lying on one of the bedrolls he'd found in the wagon. She was on the other one… It still smelled like bounty hunter - she really hoped it was Adam not Gregor - and she was planning to air it out properly in the morning once she'd sorted things out with Monroe. It was a warm night and thankfully she hadn't needed any other cover than her clothes - he'd made her put her jacket on before tying her up…

She was feeling really guilty – and stupid - now… She was the one who had walked away from him – not even trying to work out some sort of compromise… just getting angry again, taking the easy way out… And she was the one who had walked into that place, without any plan in case she needed to get out...

She was also starting to think that he – and Adam – could both be right, that the Patriots weren't going to stop… And if they had been willing to destroy whole cities with nuclear bombs - she'd met and talked to people who'd been caught just on the edges of Philly and Atlanta, miles from the centre of the explosions - they'd had horrific scars and even worse stories… What else were the Patriots willing to do? Or rather what wouldn't they do?

She'd let her own feelings about going back to Willoughby and facing all the crap there, especially having to deal with her Mom, take her over and cloud her thinking… She'd been stupid and she had to admit it… if it hadn't been for him she'd be dead now - or wishing she was…and although she didn't want to think about what had so nearly happened back in Pottsboro she knew she'd never forget it – or the utter relief and gratitude (and something else?) she'd felt when he came through that door like a hero from one of Aaron's stories… coming to save the heroine from evil men…only it hadn't been a story… the evil men really were going to rape and kill her… and he had actually saved her from that – and saved her life too… Probably no one else but Miles could have done what he did, alone… The way he had just – mown through those men still caught her breath…

She wanted him to know she was sorry, although she didn't want to wake him up, he hadn't slept properly for days when she counted it up…there'd been the night of the fights and the trailer, then the pool, then the night watching her… She wanted things between them back the way they'd started in his trailer and had been when they were together after the pool… It had all somehow gone wrong and she wanted to fix it…

There was something she could do though, and she hoped he wouldn't push her away… There was enough give in the chain joining the rings of the cuffs for her to move her hand a little… so she turned her hand round and felt for his fingers, lacing her own through his larger ones, pressing her palm against his… For a moment his hand just lay passively in hers, then he let out a sort of huge sigh, gripped her hand back and moved his arm so that their joined hands were resting on his side, just above his hip… She could feel the firm, warm flesh of his belly moving up and down with his breath… and with his hand holding hers firmly, she lifted her head up to do another sweep of their surroundings…

…..

He woke up just as the birds started announcing that dawn was happening really soon… in fact the rising sun was already giving enough light for her to see him quite easily… somehow her hand was still firmly held in and she felt the change in his breathing as he woke. He rolled over to face her… his blue eyes so close…a question in those swimming depths…

She gazed into those eyes…'Miles and my Mom are in Willoughby, Bass'… it felt strangely right to call him that now….'They're in Willoughby… in Texas - with my Grandpa…' the blue eyes widened and the pupils blew out…she kept looking…'and I'll take you there, I promise…' a little smile started at the corners of his eyes and mouth and he took a breath…bringing their joined hands up to rest his chin on them…'Well… that gives us a few weeks to get some strategies together doesn't it, Charlie…' he sat up and reached into his pocket with his free hand for the key to the cuffs… 'Maybe I could talk to Miles first…? see how it goes?' Charlie nodded… turning her wrist so he could see the lock more easily…'I was thinking the same thing… If it works out with Miles then we can all try to sort it out with my Mom…' she wriggled her fingers and stretched her arm to get some of the stiffness out…

Bass moved down to her legs and started undoing the rope around her ankles…'If it really doesn't work out with your folks, and you don't want to be there, Charlie…' He caught her eyes with his and cleared his throat… 'You and I could always go and fight the Patriots somewhere else…maybe…?' She didn't know what to say... 'Why would you want me along…?' he'd undone one ankle…but paused…eyes down - studying the rest of the knot…'You're a good fighter… the odds in that bar were pretty bad, but you fought as hard as you could… I saw some of it through the window before I got in there…' his eyes went hard and his hands tensed on her ankle as he remembered the sight of the men circled around her… he let go and started on the other ankle, winding the rope as he went…'You can hunt and track and you made it all the way to New Vegas on your own...which is pretty damn impressive all by itself…'

He'd freed both of her legs, and moved up the side of her body to her right hand…the knuckles bruised, dried blood in the creases of her skin… the elbow of her jacket stained with a little blood – and she remembered smashing through the window… 'We seem to work well as a team…' he grinned…'even when we're fighting each other…' He reached under the back of the wagon to untie the end of the rope there; 'You're a good sport…and one amazing lay….' He came back out, his teeth flashing…'although hey… no pressure…' She looked him up and down…with the beginnings of her wicked smile curving her lips; she was suddenly feeling a whole lot better… he'd as good as said he'd choose her over Miles and her Mom…

'You're not so bad yourself Monroe…' her eyebrow lifted when his grin became a bit too cocky…'A little bit less of the taking for granted thing and you might just get lucky again…' his grin only got wider…and he brought her hand up to his lips, gently pressing a kiss onto the bruises there…

Charlie couldn't help it… even though the kiss was lovely, the pain in her shoulder and elbow when he lifted her arm wasn't and she winced… The blue eyes above her were instantly contrite…'Shit, Charlie, I'm sorry…I forgot about your shoulder…' He quickly got rid of the rope, tossing it under the wagon… stood and stretched his back out…then reached down to help her up…'can you get up…?' she tested her assorted aches and pains… they were awful in combination but singly she thought they weren't too bad…'I think so…' she brought her knees round and got up on those… then she did lean on his hand to get herself to her feet… everything swam a little but apart from being really sore pretty well all over, starving hungry, dry as a desert and really needing to find a handy tree she was amazed that she actually felt, well ok wasn't really the word, but it'd do…

He put a hand around her waist and she tried a few steps…all good…well everything seemed to work ok anyway… Bass led her to the back of the wagon and showed her a small lidded box on the floor… 'I found some soap in there, and the honey… I also found us a spot near a river so how about we go down and get cleaned up…' he grabbed a couple of towels and opened the box…she looked up at his face, he looked… sort of… happy…? She didn't think she'd seen a look like that on his face before…but then maybe a similar one was on her face too… Relief… a bit of sleep, deciding on a plan they could both live with? Not being alone? Not being in immediate danger of losing their lives…?

'Hey, Monroe… Bass?' he tossed the towels (two towels, wow…bounty hunting must have been profitable…) over his shoulder, took a cake of soap from the box, putting it carefully - real soap was precious… into his shirt pocket, then turned to her 'Yeah…?' Charlie moved up close, reached up with her good (well, better) arm and pulled his head down, kissing him gently just beside his mouth… 'Thanks for coming to get me…' he pulled her into a careful hug…and they just stood there for a long moment… Charlie could feel his heart beating, his breath moving her hair, his strong, hard body against her, his scruff, soft against the skin of her cheek…and after all that had happened over the last few days it was like being under a calm and peaceful sky after a storm had passed…

….

The walk down to the river wasn't too bad once she got her legs moving, and Bass (she would think of him like that now – until he made her angry again of course…) helped her down the steepest part to a little, sheltered sandy beach where he dropped the towels and the soap… He'd retrieved her spare set of clothes, jeans, tank, bra and undies from her pack… and had found some spare clothes of Adam's that would fit him – his own were back at the trailer. He'd also brought the buckets so they didn't have to go in the water if it looked like a problem… There were trees and shrubs scattered all along the banks and Charlie could see signs of rabbits and deer – even some cattle tracks…leading down and from the water… If they had time she could catch them something a bit better to eat than beans… but first… she picked a tree and walked carefully over…

Bass kept a discreet eye on her while she did what she needed to do… then when she limped out from behind the tree he went across to help her down to sit on one of the towels… 'You want a hand to get out of those…?' he waved a finger at her jeans and boots…Charlie found herself feeling a little embarrassed, which was totally weird given that he had seen her completely naked in his trailer and in the shower block back at the pool and had fucked her till she screamed out his name both times… but this was sort of different… She really did need the help though, her right arm was so stiff she could hardly move it – and not because he'd tied her up… the men in the bar had hit her several times and she'd fallen into the window, the table and god knew what else… there was also the salt wounds on her shoulder too…and her back and legs were complaining each time she moved as well…

She nodded, grateful… he did another visual check around, just to make sure they were safe… he'd taken them as far out into an out of the way place as he could find but you never knew… Then he crouched down at her feet, removing her boots one by one, then her socks…what was left of them anyway… He looked up at her holding them up for her to see…'I think we'll have to get you some new ones…' she gazed sadly at the tattered, holey pieces of fabric… then groaned as he started to massage her feet… She just lay there enjoying it for a minute then managed to reach down to undo the button of her jeans again (she'd only fastened the top one…), and started to shuffle her butt out of them… Bass pulled gently on the bottoms of her jeans and they slid down her legs and off…

Her legs had patterns of bruises and scrapes all the way up to her thighs, were hidden for by her tattered briefs and then continued up to her waist; he shook his head 'Charlie you look like a Dalmatian…' She tipped her head, levered herself up into a sitting position with her left arm 'What the hell is a Dalmatian…?' He tossed her jeans into one of the buckets, got up and came around to kneel behind her to help her off with her jacket… 'It's a sort of dog… has lots of spots…' she shrugged, rueful…'Can't argue with that…' she winced as he pulled the sleeves of her jacket down over her arms… it had stuck a little to the injury on her elbow but once it was off she felt a lot more comfortable, then he pulled her tank up and over her head… there were more bruises but that wasn't surprising… what was though was that he stopped there…

She sat in her bra and undies, turned around to him and lifted an eyebrow…'well…?' he put his hands on his knees…'I wanted to make sure you felt ok about me touching you, seeing you… you know… after what happened in the bar…?' Charlie thought that was very sweet… and it was yet another side to Sebastian Monroe that she hadn't really known about… She leaned back against him, resting her head against the lovely hollow between his shoulder and his chest… his arms came back gently around her…'I'm very ok about it, Bass…' she turned her head and looked up at him…'I want you to touch me… I don't care about those men, they're gone…you got rid of them…and creepy Gregor… 'He breathed a sigh of relief… he really hadn't known how she would feel, how it might affect her… he'd forgotten the Matheson resilience again… Then he smiled down at her… 'Charlie… you're amazing…' she nodded and grinned back, her dimples flashing…'I know…now, take the rest of my clothes off – get yourself naked and then lets get clean….'

He unhooked her bra, gently sliding it down and off her arms… there were a few small cuts on her right elbow, and several large bruises on both shoulders and down her back…although her breasts had been protected by the padding of the bra… 'You're going to be sore for a few days Charlie…' she shrugged lightly…'I'm alive, I'll be fine…come on…your turn…' Bass stripped his shirt off then his t-shirt, stood up and undid his belt and jeans buttons… she leaned on her better arm and looked up at him, 'And the rest…' her lips curved… 'I'm feeling better already…' he gave her his wide grin…eyes crinkled and teeth gleaming… 'Charlie…your eyes are sparkling…' She shimmied – carefully – out of her undies… slipping them down her legs… glad to be rid of them after being in them since she'd got changed in the shower block…

He kicked off his boots and dropped his jeans… he wasn't wearing anything underneath… She stared and licked her lips (she couldn't help it…) and realised that she hadn't actually seen him entirely naked before in daylight – he'd still been (mostly) wearing his jeans in his trailer – and in the shower block… He was standing there dirty and scarred and covered in almost as many bruises as she was but he was still incredible; his chest and arms toned and beautifully muscled (she had a flashback to him sweating and fighting in Gould's tent…), his legs long and well shaped, covered in little golden hairs… his feet strong and finely made… her eyes travelled upwards again and hovered over his - very nice - cock and balls, sitting framed in dark golden curls that were thick around the junction of his legs then thinned into a lovely line that travelled up to his belly button…as she watched she could see his cock thicken and grow… she glanced upwards and met his eyes fixed on her…they seemed to be glowing in the morning light…his hair outlined by a sunbeam coming through the trees…

She took a deep breath…wow…'what did Adam mean when he said he'd heard about you and women, Bass?' he shrugged, noncommittal… 'Don't really know…women usually like me I guess…' He sounded a little embarrassed...although he didn't need to be… he was gorgeous… and she could understand women falling over themselves to be with him... Charlie looked down at herself, bringing her knees up to her chin, hugging them… she was battered and bruised and didn't feel attractive at all…not compared to him… Bass saw how it was, and he'd thought that something like this might happen…even though she'd said she was ok… he dropped to his knees down beside her…'Hey…Charlie… you're beautiful, and strong and sexy as hell…even covered in bruises and dirt…' he put a finger under her chin and lifted her face up to him, dropping a kiss onto her lips… 'Do you remember what I said to you outside Gould's tent – when I had you on the ground?' she nodded, her eyes cast down though… 'Well I meant it… you could have anyone you wanted…and if it happened to be me, I'd count myself very lucky…' She gave him a little smile, her eyes were still unsure though…and he hated seeing her so… unlike her… 'Come on Charlie…' he punched her gently on the chin… 'You'll feel much better once you're clean…then you can be a pain in my ass again…' She bristled 'hey…' He grinned and helped her up onto her feet… 'That's better…'

Walking the few steps over to the soap, Bass picked it up along with one of the buckets and then they both moved to the edge of the water… it was quite shallow where they were standing, the water clear and flowing quietly over sand and small pebbles… Closer to the centre of the river it was deeper – running faster… They walked in until the water was halfway up Charlie's calves; her feet sinking slightly into the sandy bottom…the air was warming up really quickly and the cool water felt wonderful against her skin… Bass filled the bucket with water and set it up next to Charlie's legs… he knelt down in the sand and started with her legs… working the soap into lather up and down her strongly muscled lower legs and thighs, standing up then and working over her full, firm buttocks and straight back, up over her belly and breasts, running his fingers softly over her nipples, feeling them coming to peaks… her breath coming faster as he worked over her body… He moved up to her neck and shoulders, massaging gently and avoiding the wounds on her shoulder …

He was leaving parts of her for last because he really didn't think he'd be able to concentrate if he went there now… his dick was already at half-mast… Bass cleared his throat…'Sit down and I'll do your hair Charlie…' her eyes had closed and she was swaying a little into his hands… 'Okay…then I get to wash you…' her voice was hazy and relaxed… he smiled…'That'd be nice…' He had a quick look around, the birds and insects were used to their presence now and there were morning sounds all around them… other than that things looked alright… He picked her up, soap and all…her skin was glistening in the sunlight, streaks of soapy water running off her body… setting her down onto the soft, sandy river bed… She leaned her head back into the stream and let the water soak her hair; he knelt behind her, and started washing it… rubbing and squeezing soap through the dark blonde strands until the water ran clear… She gazed up at him, sighing with pleasure… He was intent on what he was doing… eyes focused… No one had done this for her before, no one had ever taken such care of her… and he seemed to be enjoying it too… He was such a mixture of things…so good at killing, but so…caring too…'I love your hair Charlie…' he said quietly, stroking his fingers through the wet strands, letting the current float it over her shoulders… 'It's beautiful… you look like a mermaid lying there…' she laughed up at him… 'I know what mermaids are…but I don't have a tail...'

His gaze travelled down her body…then back up to meet hers… the blue eyes hot and intense… 'I love what you have got…' He moved around to lie beside her, the soap in his hand…and ran it down to the darker curls between her legs, running it over the soft folds between her legs… She gasped as his soapy hand moved back and forwards, the hard cake rubbing against her clit making her squirm ...she twisted her hip over and lifted her leg so that he could reach all the way between her legs…and he sat up a little, bending a knee to support his weight, the other leg stretched out in the water, sand hollowing under the tight curves of flesh… he stroked his other hand down her body, soaping over her back and ass…

Over the taut muscles of his bent leg she could see the thick, smooth shaft of his cock rising proudly against the taut skin of his belly with its dusting of golden hair…river water making little eddies around his balls and butt… Charlie reached out to it, running her left hand over the leg and down, circling his cock with her fingers, moving them up and down over the silky skin…she felt him grow harder and the hands on her body became more urgent… 'Bass…?' he paused…'Is this ok Charlie…?' his voice was a little strained… she laughed…'It's a whole lot more than ok Bass…' she took her hand off his dick and ran it up his chest…finding his face and turning it down to her…'It's just… I've never fucked anyone in a river before…' he grinned, eyes glowing down at her…'want to try it…?' She sat up…droplets from her hair streaming down her face and arms…'I want to go on top and I need the soap…' his grin got wider…'Charlie…you can have whatever you like…'

He lay down, water streaming around his head and shoulders… little streamlets wandering over his arms, pooling on his belly and between his legs… Charlie straddled him; her knees bent back in the soft sand, her pussy resting on the top of his thighs …looking down at him as he watched her… She had been wanting to put her hands all over him since she had seen him standing in front of her and she wanted to wash him like he had her… but first she really needed to feel him inside her… He stroked his hands up her thighs and up to her waist, his hands large enough to stroke around the undersides of her breasts; his eyes holding hers… She arched her back, rubbing herself along the wonderfully hard length of his cock, then, reaching down she took him in her hand, rising up on her knees, guiding him to her entrance and sank down… She gasped as he slid inside her, stretching her out and filling her up…his cock felt so hot inside her, the water around them cool, little ripples and reflections dancing, the breeze and the sun on her back and in her eyes making her feel light and golden… she leaned forward and rested her hands on his shoulders…lifting up, then sliding down again… the delicious friction between them building each time…each breath a little faster…his hands were tight on her hips lifting her up and down to a faster and faster rhythm that sent little wavelets travelling down their legs…and she felt herself slipping into a sweet and wonderful explosion that had her falling onto him panting and shuddering… Bass lifting her at the last moment, spilling himself between their bodies…

Charlie lay along his warm body, feeling better than she could remember feeling for a very long time…the water running past and over them…the sun getting hotter on her back and legs…she reached up and found his lips waiting for her…

They would go to Willoughby together and try to sort things out with Miles and her Mom… but if it didn't work out there, then they would have each other… and she didn't mind that option one little bit…

…

AN: Well, there it is… I hope you liked it I really enjoyed writing them a happy ending… all the best and hope to see you at the next story! Magpie :)


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